UNIVERSITY  ...    CALIFORNIA 
DAVIS 


AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 


AMERICANS 

BY  ADOPTION 

BRIEF  BIOGRAPHIES  OF 

GREAT  CITIZENS  BORN  IN 

FOREIGN  LANDS 

BY  JOSEPH  HUSBAND 

WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION  BY 

WILLIAM  ALLAN  NEILSON 

PRESIDENT  OF  SMITH  COLLEGE         • 


ILLUSTRATED 


The  ATLANTIC  MONTHLY  PRESS 

BOSTON 


LIBRARY 


COPYRIGHT,    1920,   BY 
THE  ATLANTIC  MONTHLY  PRESS,  INC. 

All  nghts  reserved 


To 
EDWARD  F.  SANDERSON 


CONTENTS 

INTRODUCTION,  BY  WILLIAM  ALLAN  NEILSON      ...  xi 

I.     STEPHEN  GIRARD I 

II.     JOHN  ERICSSON 17 

III.  Louis  AGASSIZ 37 

IV.  CARL  SCHURZ 56 

V.     THEODORE  THOMAS 74 

VI.     ANDREW  CARNEGIE 91 

VII.    JAMES  J.  HILL 104 

VIII.    AUGUSTUS  SAINT-GAUDENS 121 

IX.    JACOB  A.  Rus       . 140 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Louis  AGASSIZ Frontispiece 

STEPHEN  GIRARD 6 

JOHN  ERICSSON 18 

CARL  SCHURZ 56 

THEODORE  THOMAS 74 

ANDREW  CARNEGIE 92 

JAMES  J.  HILL 104 

AUGUSTUS  SAINT-GAUDENS 122 

JACOB  A.  Rns 140 


INTRODUCTION 

THERE  is  an  old  story,  told  in  many  countries 
through  the  Middle  Ages,  of  a  knight  who  got  into 
trouble,  and  was  offered  pardon  if  within  a  year  he 
brought  the  correct  answer  to  the  question,  "What 
do  women  most  desire?"  At  the  last  moment  he 
saved  himself  by  answering,  "Their  own  way,"  or 
words  to  that  effect. 

This  is  a  man's  story,  and  scores  the  man's  point  in 
the  perennial  strife  of  wits  between  the  sexes;  but  the 
answer  needs  but  little  modification  to  hold  good  of 
men  and  women  alike.  When  one  takes  up  a  book 
like  this,  dealing  with  the  lives  of  men  who  deliber 
ately  and  voluntarily  left  the  homes  of  their  fathers  to 
become  citizens  of  a  strange  land,  one  naturally  asks 
what  they  wanted,  and  equally  naturally  goes  on  to 
ask  what  men  in  general  want  most  in  life. 

Many  answers  have  been  given  to  the  question, 
and  none  can  be  final,  because  men  and  circumstances 
differ  so  widely.  But  I  should  like  to  propose  one  that 
seems  to  me  of  more  general  application  than  most. 
Men  want  most  to  count  among  their  fellows  for 
what  they  are  worth.  This  desire  is  more  persistent 
than  love,  more  universal  than  the  thirst  for  wealth 
or  power,  more  fundamental  than  the  demand  for 
pleasure.  It  shows  itself  in  early  childhood,  it  steers 
the  ambitions  of  manhood,  its  fulfillment  is  the  crown 
of  old  age.  The  degree  of  the  chance  to  achieve  it  is 


xii  INTRODUCTION 

the  measure  of  the  desirability  of  a  country  as  a  place 
to  live  in;  and  it  is  fair  to  say  that  the  men  whose  lives 
are  told  in  this  book,  and  we  others  who  have  come 
to  America  of  our  own  accord,  have  done  so  because 
we  believed  that  these  United  States,  above  all 
countries  of  the  world,  give  men  this  chance  to  make 
the  most  of  themselves. 

"To  count  among  their  fellows  for  what  they  are 
worth"  —  see  what  this  implies.  First,  and  most 
superficially,  it  means  recognition  of  ability  and 
character  by  society.  Carried  to  the  highest  point,  it 
would  mean  the  absence  of  handicaps,  of  privilege,  of 
"pull"  —  the  equality  of  opportunity  for  achieving 
distinction  which  has  always  been  the  theory  of  this 
democracy.  Of  course,  neither  here  nor  elsewhere  is 
this  perfect  condition  reached;  but  the  biographies  in 
this  book  tend  to  show  that  there  has  long  been  a  large 
degree  of  it  here,  and  our  social  progress  has  this  con 
dition  frankly  accepted  as  a  goal. 

Secondly,  it  implies  a  basis  for  self-respect.  Deeper 
than  the  grudge  that  a  man  has  against  the  society 
which  refuses  him  due  credit  for  his  achievement  is  the 
grudge  that  a  man  feels  when  he  has  to  admit  to  him 
self  that  his  achievement  is  not  really  creditable. 
The  worst  curse  of  slavery  was  not  its  external  re 
strictions,  but  its  effect  in  crushing  the  slave's  sense 
of  the  potential  nobility  of  his  own  soul.  The  feeling 
that  a  man  has  a  fair  chance  to  be  taken  at  his  full 
value  is  an  exhilarating  feeling,  liberating  his  powers, 
freeing  him  from  the  gnawing  pains  of  mortified 
vanity,  impelling  him  to  hold  his  head  up  and  look 
his  neighbor  in  the  eye. 


AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION  xiii 

Thirdly,  it  means  a  chance  to  do  one's  job  —  one's 
own  job  —  and  to  do  it  to  the  limit  of  one's  capacity. 
This  is  the  foundation  on  which  both  recognition  and 
self-respect  must  be  built.  "Blessed  is  the  man," 
says  Carlyle,  "who  has  found  his  work;  let  him  seek 
no  other  blessedness."  Because  a  man  is  freer  in 
America  to  pass  from  one  calling  to  another,  from  one 
class  to  another,  from  one  region  to  another;  because 
here  people  are  willing  to  be  shown  what  he  can  do; 
the  chances  are  greater  than  elsewhere  that  he  will  find 
the  task  and  circumstances  which  fit  him  best  and  let 
him  count  for  most. 

If  you  read  through  these  nine  lives,  you  will  see 
that  what  each  of  these  men  was  really  after,  and 
what  each  found  more  fully  here  than  in  the  old  world, 
was  not  wealth  or  power  or  pleasure  of  the  senses,  but 
the  chance  to  do  the  biggest  job  of  which  he  was 
capable.  Three  of  them,  indeed,  did  gather  great 
wealth,  but  it  was  either  a  by-product  of  the  main 
achievement  of  their  lives,  or  the  instrument  of  that 
achievement.  The  vision  that  inspired  James  J.  Hill 
was  not  a  colossal  fortune,  but  the  opening  up  and 
populating  of  a  great  territory  with  farmers  leading 
large,  wholesome,  and  prosperous  lives.  Two  of  the 
nine  were  artists,  who  neither  asked  nor  received  great 
financial  rewards,  but  who  found  here  the  chance  to 
create  beauty  and  to  form  taste,  and  in  seizing  this 
chance  they  found  their  supreme  satisfaction. 

Of  these  nine  men  I  have  known  only  one,  Augustus 
Saint-Gaudens ;  but  none  could  have  illustrated  better 
the  spirit  in  which  work  has  to  be  done  if  it  is  to  yield 


xiv  INTRODUCTION 

its  greatest  reward.  What  struck  me  in  watching 
Saint-Gaudens  work  was  his  absolute  indifference  to 
what  a  statue  would  cost  him  in  pains  or  in  time,  or  to 
what  it  would  bring  him  in  money,  and  his  complete 
absorption  in  making  it  as  nearly  perfect  as  he  could. 
He  did  not  "count  the  mortal  years  it  takes  to  mould 
the  immortal  forms."  He  would  work  for  hours  on  the 
modeling  of  an  inch  of  surface,  seeking  for  an  exact 
ness  of  result  imperceptible  to  the  lay  bystander. 
He  would  never  be  hurried  —  and  he  found  America 
willing  to  wait. 

The  same  spirit  worked  in  Ericsson  in  his  inven 
tions,  in  Carl  Schurz  in  his  unceasing  quest  for 
political  justice,  in  Riis  in  his  cleaning  up  of  New 
York  City.  Some  of  these  men  were  not  outstanding 
intellects,  but  each  cared  intensely  about  his  job,  and 
to  each  America  gave  his  chance. 

I  have  a  quarrel  with  the  title  of  this  book.  "Amer 
icans  by  Choice"  it  should  be,  not  "Americans  by 
Adoption."  "Adoption"  suggests  that  America 
adopt  us.  We  who  have  of  our  own  accord  left  the 
old  world  and  taken  up  citizenship  in  the  new  know 
that  we  have  chosen  her,  not  she  us.  We  can  leave  to 
the  native-born  their  natural  pride  in  their  birth 
right,  but  we  can  claim  that  we  pay  a  greater  com 
pliment  to  this  land  than  can  these  others,  for  our 
citizenship  is  not  the  result  of  an  accident  but  of  our 
free  choice.  And  we  have  paid  our  price.  We,  and  we 
alone,  know  what  it  has  cost  to  leave  behind  scenes 
and  traditions  and  affections  which  clung  close  to  the 
heart.  But  that  we  have  left  them  is  proof  that  we 


AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION  xv 

prized  still  more  highly  the  opportunity  that  America 
offered  us  to  count  for  what  we  are  worth. 

In  the  face  of  this  proof  we  have  no  apologies  to 
make.  We  call  our  nine  worthies  to  witness;  and, 
while  not  forgetting  our  due  of  gratitude  for  our 
chance,  we  point  to  the  use  we  make  of  the  chance, 
and  ask  the  native-born  to  acknowledge  that  the 
balance  swings  level.  More  than  this  we  cannot  ask; 
less  than  this  we  will  not  take.  Granted  this,  without 
grudging  and  without  condescension,  we  can  quiet 
all  fears  of  divided  allegiance,  and  work  with  our 
fellow  citizens  for  the  perfecting  of  the  social  order  in 
which  these  wise  and  worthy  men  found  an  environ 
ment  for  accomplishment  of  the  first  rank,  and  with 
which  we  have  thrown  in  our  lot  in  becoming  Amer 
icans  by  choice. 

W.   A.   NEILSON. 

NORTHAMPTON,  MASSACHUSETTS 


AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

i 

STEPHEN  GIRARD 

Born  in  Bordeaux,  France,  1750 
Died  in  Philadelphia,  1831 

THE  old  French  city  of  Bordeaux  has  for  centuries 
been  one  of  the  greatest  maritime  cities  of  Europe. 
Situated  on  the  low  shore  of  the  River  Garonne,  its 
stone  quays  have  for  generations  been  close-packed 
with  the  ships  of  a  world-wide  commerce.  Under  the 
Roman  Empire  it  was  a  flourishing  city;  in  the  fourth 
century,  surrounded  by  massive  walls  and  lofty  tow 
ers,  it  became  the  capital  of  Aquitania  Secunda;  and 
later,  for  three  hundred  years,  it  was  ruled  by  English 
kings.  Here  reigned  Edward,  the  Black  Prince,  and 
here  was  born  his  son  Richard.  Between  the  Bordeaux 
merchants  and  the  English  an  extensive  commerce 
developed,  and  as  years  passed  by,  this  commerce 
branched  out  into  a  world-activity  that  to-day  main 
tains  relations  with  all  civilized  lands,  but  chiefly,  as 
has  been  the  case  for  a  century  and  a  half,  with  Eng 
land,  South  America,  the  West  Indies,  and  the  United 
States. 

In  the  year  1750  the  stone  wharves  along  the  river 
bristled  with  the  masts  and  spars  of  the  fleets  of  the 

Bordeaux  merchants.    Small  ships  they  were  com- 
2 


2  AMERICANS   BY  ADOPTION 

pared  with  the  great  steel  cargo-carriers  that  to-day 
line  the  stream;  but  they  were  staunchly  built  and 
strongly  manned,  and  their  rich  cargoes,  safely  trans 
ported  from  the  distant  Indies,  filled  the  city  with 
wealth  and  the  romance  of  blue  salt  water  and  foreign 
lands. 

In  that  same  year,  in  a  house  in  rue  Ramonet  au 
Chartrons,  then  a  suburb  of  the  city,  was  born 
Stephen  Girard,  son  of  Pierre  Girard,  Captain  of  the 
Port  of  Bordeaux.  Pierre  the  father  was  a  man  of 
some  importance  and  a  prosperous  merchant  in  the 
city.  In  1744,  during  the  War  of  the  Austrian  Succes 
sion,  he  had  served  with  honor  in  the  French  navy, 
and  at  the  blockade  of  Brest,  he  had  received  the 
Military  Order  of  Saint  Louis  for  his  heroic  action 
in  putting  out  the  flames  on  his  ship,  which  had  been 
fired  by  a  fire-ship  sent  into  the  French  squadron  by 
the  British.  In  later  years  he  became  Burgess  of  Bor 
deaux,  and  during  this  period  he  began  to  trade  with 
the  French  ports  in  the  island  of  San  Domingo  in  the 
West  Indies.  Of  such  stock  was  the  boy  Stephen; 
born  with  the  romance  of  the  sea  as  his  inheritance 
and  with  the  heroic  memory  of  his  father  to  inspire 
him,  but  born  with  a  handicap  which,  however,  he 
never  permitted  to  retard  his  progress;  for  from  birth 
he  was  sightless  in  his  right  eye. 

It  was  natural  that  the  boy  should  turn  to  the  sea. 
When  he  was  twelve  years  old,  the  death  of  his  mother 
left  him  a  half-orphan.  His  education  had  been  of  the 
most  general  nature.  There  was  little  to  draw  him 
into  the  occupations  of  the  land.  To  the  lonesome  lad 


STEPHEN  GIRARD  3 

the  sea  offered  at  least  the  promise  of  adventure,  and 
perhaps  the  rewards  of  wealth  and  distinction.  In 
the  year  1764  Stephen  was  fourteen.  His  father's 
trading  activities  with  the  West  Indies  afforded  the 
opening  he  desired;  and  with  his  few  belongings  packed 
in  a  sea-chest,  he  shipped  as  cabin-boy  on  a  small 
merchantman  to  Port-au-Prince.  Five  more  voyages 
followed,  and  in  1773  he  was  licensed  to  act  as  "cap 
tain,  master,  or  pilot  of  any  merchant  ship  he  could 
obtain." 

A  year  later  as  "officer  of  the  ship"  La  Julie,  he 
sailed  from  Bordeaux  for  Port-au-Prince.  It  was  the 
final  severance  of  his  tie  with  France.  The  cargo  con 
sisted  chiefly  of  general  merchandise,  in  which  Stephen 
had  purchased  a  small  share,  bought  from  Bordeaux 
merchants  with  notes,  or  promises  to  pay  at  some 
later  date.  But  business  was  slow  in  the  islands,  and 
the  goods  sold  at  a  loss  of  over  twenty-five  per  cent. 
In  those  days  a  man  might  be  imprisoned  for  debt, 
and  Girard  realized  that  such  a  fate  might  await  him 
should  he  return  to  Bordeaux.  Accordingly,  he  ob 
tained  his  discharge  from  the  ship,  and  with  a  young 
acquaintance  determined  to  form  a  partnership  for 
the  purpose  of  trading  between  the  island  ports.  So 
with  many  who  have  sought  freedom  in  the  new  world, 
cruel  laws  and  the  dread  of  an  unjust  imprisonment 
forced  Girard  to  forsake  his  native  land.  But  the 
just  debt  which  he  owed  was  not  forgotten,  and  in 
later  years  the  Bordeaux  merchants,  whose  anger  he 
had  feared,  received  from  him  payment  in  full  of  the 
merchandise  they  had  advanced  him. 


4  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

In  July,  1774,  Girard  sailed  for  New  York  with  a 
small  cargo  of  coffee  and  sugar.  It  was  a  stirring 
time  in  the  history  of  the  American  Colonies.  For  a 
dozen  years  the  free  spirit  of  the  Americans  had 
chafed  under  the  oppression  of  British  rule.  Open 
fighting  had  occurred  in  Boston  in  1770,  when,  in  a 
fight  between  the  populace  and  the  British  soldiers, 
three  men  were  killed  and  eight  were  wounded.  Two 
years  later  the  British  revenue  schooner  Gaspee  was 
seized  and  burned  by  the  people  of  Rhode  Island,  and 
in  1773  the  citizens  of  Boston,  disguised  as  Indians, 
emptied  into  the  water  of  Boston  Harbor  342  chests 
of  tea  from  an  English  merchantman,  as  a  protest 
against  taxation  without  representation  in  Parlia 
ment.  In  retaliation,  acts  obnoxious  to  the  people  of 
Massachusetts  were  passed  by  the  British  Govern 
ment;  and  in  answer  to  these,  on  September  5,  1774, 
the  Continental  Congress  was  assembled  at  Philadel 
phia,  and  a  declaration  of  rights  was  drawn  up  and 
published,  defining  the  spirit  of  the  American  Colonies 
and  indicating  the  consequences  which  must  follow 
further  interference  with  the  liberty  of  the  American 
people  to  levy  their  own  taxes  and  make  their  own 
laws  in  their  own  Colonial  assemblies. 

Backing  words  with  deeds,  the  Colony  of  Massa 
chusetts  set  up  its  own  government  in  defiance  of 
General  Gage,  the  British  representative,  and  placed 
at  its  head  John  Hancock,  an  influential  merchant  of 
Boston.  Twelve  thousand  volunteer  militiamen  were 
organized,  —  of  whom  about  one  third  were  known  as 
"minute  men,"  or  soldiers  ready  to  march  or  fight  at 


STEPHEN  GIRARD  5 

a  minute's  notice,  —  and  stores  and  ammunition  were 
collected.  Into  such  a  scene  sailed  the  young  French 
boy  with  his  cargo  of  sugar  and  coffee;  and  it  is  not 
surprising  that  his  liberty-loving  spirit  sympathized 
with  the  indomitable  determination  of  the  colonists 
to  rid  themselves  of  the  yoke  of  an  old-world  nation, 
and  led  him  to  seek  employment  in  New  York  City, 
with  some  merchants  there  who  traded  with  San 
Domingo. 

First  as  mate  and  soon  as  captain,  Girard  steadily 
sailed  back  and  forth  between  New  York  and  the 
trading  town  of  Le  Cap  in  San  Domingo.  As  captain 
of  the  little  vessel,  he  was  allowed  by  the  owners  the 
privilege  of  carrying  a  limited  store  of  goods  for  his 
own  venture,  in  addition  to  the  regular  cargo.  His 
capital  was  small,  but  no  opportunity  to  increase  it 
was  ever  allowed  to  pass,  and  each  voyage  showed  a 
steadily  increasing  profit  to  the  credit  of  the  youthful 
trader. 

Meanwhile,  in  America,  the  fighting  at  Lexington 
and  Concord  had  announced  to  the  world  the  deter 
mination  of  the  liberty-loving  colonists  to  cast  off 
British  rule,  and  in  1775  the  War  of  American  Inde 
pendence  was  begun.  But  important  as  this  war  is  in 
American  eyes,  it  was  but  one  of  several  difficulties 
which  confronted  Great  Britain:  three  years  later 
war  was  begun  between  that  country  and  France,  and 
in  1779  Spain  also  declared  war  on  Great  Britain;  this 
was  followed  in  1780  by  the  declaration  of  war  between 
Great  Britain  and  Holland. 

Immediately  all  American  shipping  became  subject 


6  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

to  seizure  by  British  vessels,  and  accordingly  Girard 
availed  himself  of  the  neutrality  of  France  and  shifted 
to  the  protection  of  the  French  flag.  But  the  dangers 
of  the  sea,  increased  by  the  hazards  of  war,  were  enor 
mous,  and  in  1776  Girard  found  himself  practically 
shipwrecked  oif  the  Delaware  coast.  With  difficulty 
he  brought  his  ship  to  shore,  and  soon  found  him 
self  in  the  little  city  of  Philadelphia,  which  was  des 
tined  in  after  years  to  claim  him  as  its  foremost  citizen. 

Philadelphia  was  a  town  of  twenty-four  thousand 
inhabitants.  By  slow-sailing  packets  its  people  kept 
uncertain  contact  with  the  news  of  the  old-world 
cities;  stage  coach  and  post-rider  kept  them  informed 
of  home  affairs.  A  few  small  newspapers  reported 
the  stirring  events  then  occurring.  But  Girard  was 
not  particularly  concerned  with  the  struggle  of  the 
American  Colonies.  He  was  still  a  Frenchman  trad 
ing  with  the  West  Indies,  concerned  only  with  his 
ships,  his  markets,  and  his  fortune.  Philadelphia 
seemed  to  him  to  be  an  enterprising  and  growing 
place,  and  accordingly  he  settled  there.  It  was  per 
haps  the  most  important  decision  in  his  life. 

As  he  was  forced  by  the  presence  of  British  war  ves 
sels  off  the  coast  to  abandon  his  trading  ventures  with 
the  West  Indies,  Girard's  activities  were  for  two  years 
limited  to  local  affairs.  During  the  blockade  an  event 
took  place  which  gave  him  a  real  tie  with  the  strug 
gling  states:  he  married  an  American,  Miss  Mary 
Lum.  In  1778  the  British  forces  occupied  Philadel 
phia  and  seized  the  Water  Witch,  the  first  vessel 
owned  entirely  by  the  enterprising  Frenchman. 


STEPHEN  GIRARD  7 

Philadelphia,  however,  was  soon  again  in  American 
hands,  and  the  sea  communication  for  foreign  trade 
was  restored.  With  the  reopening  of  commerce  Girard 
formed  a  partnership  with  his  brother,  who  was  now 
living  at  Le  Cap,  for  the  purpose  of  trading  between 
Le  Cap  and  Philadelphia.  Salt,  syrup,  sugar,  and 
coffee  were  desired  by  the  Americans,  and  by  their 
importation  he  saw  a  "big  profit." 

Business  prospered,  and  in  1779  Girard  wrote  to  his 
father:  "Tired  of  the  risks  of  a  sailor's  life,  I  deter 
mined  to  settle  ashore.  ...  I  have  taken  a  wife  who 
is  without  fortune,  but  whom  I  love  and  with  whom  I 
am  living  very  happily.  By  hard  work  I  have  finished 
furnishing  my  house,  increased  my  capital  to  thirty- 
five  thousand  and  hope  to  make  good  all  my  past 
losses." 

Peace  came  in  1783,  and  with  it  ports  were  reop 
ened  and  trade  resumed.  Convinced  that  by  owning 
his  own  vessels  his  profits  on  each  trading  voyage 
would  be  largely  increased,  Girard  became  the  sole 
owner  of  a  small  brig,  the  Two  Brothers,  which  was 
built  by  him  for  his  particular  purposes.  It  was  the 
actual  beginning  of  that  mercantile  career  which  was 
to  make  him  in  time  the  richest  merchant  in  Amer 
ica.  The  Two  Brothers  sailed  for  Le  Cap  with  a 
cargo  of  flour  and  lumber.  The  return  cargo  consisted 
of  molasses,  sugar,  coffee,  and  soap.  The  profits  each 
way  were  large,  and  a  second  voyage  to  Le  Cap  was 
promptly  undertaken. 

Meanwhile,  Girard,  realizing  the  opportunities 
which  the  new  Republic  promised,  had  become  a  citi- 


8  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

zen,  taking  the  oath  of  allegiance  at  Philadelphia  on 
the  twenty-seventh  of  October,  1778.  Among  the  first 
of  the  millions  of  old-world  people  who  in  the  years 
which  followed  were  destined  to  renounce  the  oppres 
sive  institutions  of  their  native  lands  and  become  nat 
uralized  citizens  of  the  free  United  States,  it  is  partic 
ularly  interesting  that  Girard  was  born  in  a  country 
which  likewise  was  soon  to  cast  aside  the  rule  of  kings 
and  establish  the  institutions  of  a  republic. 

From  now  on  Girard's  fortune  seemed  steadily  to 
advance.  In  1789  George  Washington  became  the 
first  President  of  the  new  Republic.  With  the  ces 
sation  of  war  at  home  and  abroad,  commerce  was 
again  resumed,  and  an  era  of  prosperity  gave  to  such 
men  as  Stephen  Girard  the  opportunity  to  reap  richly 
of  the  world's  commercial  harvest. 

Crop  failures  in  France  had  created  a  demand  for 
foreign  wheat,  and  to  stimulate  its  importation  the 
French  Government  offered  a  premium  to  anyone 
importing  it.  It  was  an  attractive  speculation,  and 
Girard,  with  his  eye  ever  scanning  world  opportuni 
ties  while  others  passed  them  by,  saw  his  chance  to 
turn  an  honest  penny.  Promptly  his  own  ships  and 
other  chartered  vessels  were  filled  with  grain,  and  an 
abundant  profit  was  quickly  realized. 

In  these  early  days,  the  yellow  fever,  now  eradi 
cated  by  modern  knowledge  of  sanitation,  took  each 
year  its  death-toll  among  the  inhabitants  of  southern 
countries,  and  from  time  to  time  extended  far  beyond 
its  normal  field.  Girard,  and,  in  fact,  most  of  the 
American  merchants  of  that  day,  had  conducted  a 


STEPHEN  GIRARD  9 

large  business  with  San  Domingo,  the  principal  trad 
ing  centre  of  the  West  Indies.  In  1791,  however,  the 
large  negro  population  of  the  island  revolted,  and  fire, 
slaughter,  and  plunder  soon  turned  the  prosperous 
community  into  a  wilderness.  White  refugees  crowded 
every  outgoing  vessel  and  by  the  hundreds  began  to 
pour  into  Philadelphia  and  other  American  seaboard 
cities.  "Take  advantage  of  my  brig  Polly,"  wrote 
Girard  to  a  friend  on  the  unhappy  island,  "  if  she  still 
be  in  the  harbor,  to  come  here  and  enjoy  the  peace 
which  our  Republican  Government,  founded  as  it  is 
on  the  rights  of  man,  assures  to  all  its  inhabitants." 

But  with  the  refugees  came  also  the  dreaded  plague, 
and  baffling  the  skill  of  the  doctors,  it  spread  through 
Philadelphia  until  the  streets  were  crowded  with  fu 
nerals  and  the  church-bells  seemed  continually  to  toll. 
There  were  few  hospitals  in  those  days,  and  the  Phil 
adelphia  hospital  at  Bush  Hill  was  not  only  crowded 
far  beyond  its  capacity,  but  was  in  wretched  condi- 
tion>  owing  to  the  lack  of  attendants.  Girard  was  put 
on  a  committee,  and  that  very  evening  reported  the 
immediate  need  of  nurses  and  money.  But  Girard  did 
not  stop  with  his  duties  as  committeeman.  Without 
hesitation,  and  totally  ignoring  the  probability  of  con 
tracting  the  fever  himself,  he  and  a  fellow  townsman, 
Peter  Helm,  assumed  active  control  of  the  hospital, 
and  day  and  night,  throughout  the  plague,  toiled  at 
this  self-imposed  work  of  mercy  among  the  sick  and 
the  dying. 

Among  the  various  accounts  of  the  plague  the 
following  is  of  particular  interest  in  its  mention  of 


io  AMERICANS   BY  ADOPTION 

Girard:  "Stephen  Girard,  a  French  merchant  long 
resident  here,  and  Peter  Helm,  born  here  of  German 
parents,  men  whose  names  and  services  should  never 
be  forgotten,  had  the  humanity  and  courage  constantly 
to  attend  the  hospital,  and  not  only  saw  that  the 
nurses  did  their  duties,  but  they  actually  performed 
many  of  the  most  dangerous,  and  at  the  same  time 
humiliating  services  for  the  sick  with  their  own 
hands." 

When  the  plague  was  over,  Girard  returned  to  his 
business.  In  February,  1793,  France  declared  war  on 
Great  Britain,  and  immediately  British  troops  and 
ships  seized  the  French  cities  in  San  Domingo.  Ships 
of  war  and  privateers  of  both  countries  promptly 
swarmed  over  the  seas.  Decrees  were  soon  published 
by  the  nations  at  war,  forbidding  neutral  vessels  to 
trade  with  enemy  ports.  The  law  of  nations  was  dis 
regarded,  and  American  ships  were  seized  and  con 
fiscated.  Great  Britain  particularly  ignored  the  rights 
of  American  ship-owners,  and  thousands  of  dollars 
worth  of  American  ships  and  cargoes  were  soon  in 
British  hands.  Two  of  Girard's  ships,  the  Kitty  and 
the  Sally,  were  taken.  Commerce  was  demoralized. 

In  retaliation  against  the  outrages  perpetrated  by 
the  British  and  the  French,  a  "non-intercourse  bill" 
provided  that  after  November  i,  1794,  "all  commer 
cial  intercourse  between  the  citizens  of  the  United 
States  and  the  subjects  of  the  King  of  Great  Britain 
should  cease."  The  bill  was  lost  in  the  Senate,  but 
an  embargo  which  closed  all  American  ports  to  for 
eign  trade  accomplished  practically  the  same  end.  In 


STEPHEN  GIRARD  11 

all,  five  ships  belonging  to  Girard  were  now  in  enemy 
hands. 

In  October,  1 80 1,  after  eight  years  of  war,  peace 
was  concluded  between  France  and  Great  Britain, 
and  in  December  the  war  which  the  United  States  had 
been  conducting  against  France  was  also  ended.  With 
the  return  of  peace  came  renewed  commercial  activ 
ity.  Girard  at  once  availed  himself  of  the  opportunity, 
and  soon  his  ships  were  engaged  in  trade  with  the 
ports  of  France  and  Russia.  But  this  revival  of  com 
merce  was  of  short  duration,  for  the  unsettled  state  of 
Europe  soon  resulted  in  new  blockades  of  ports,  em 
bargoes,  and  acts  of  non-intercourse  against  the  of 
fending  countries.  Then,  to  complete  the  disaster,  in 
1810  Napoleon  annexed  Holland  to  France  and  issued 
a  decree  "by  which  American  ships  and  cargoes, 
seized  in  the  ports  of  Holland,  Spain,  France,  and 
Naples,  to  the  value  of  ten  million  dollars,  were  con 
demned  and  sold."  Five  of  Girard's  ships  which  had 
sailed  for  northern  ports  were  now  seized  and  held  by 
the  Danes,  and  it  was  many  months  before  their  re 
lease  could  be  secured.  Trade  with  Europe  was  at  an 
end;  but  despite  the  heavy  losses  which  Girard  had 
suffered,  he  did  not  hesitate  or  allow  himself  to  be 
mastered  by  the  situation.  If  Europe  was  closed, 
South  America  and  the  Far  East  were  open  to  him, 
and  now  his  ships  began  new  commerce  with  new  con 
tinents,  and  in  December,  1810,  the  ship  Montesquieu 
set  sail  for  Valparaiso  and  Canton. 

During  these  years  of  commercial  activity  Girard 
had  become  a  large  investor  in  real  estate,  and  of  his 

I 


12  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

profits  from  his  trading  ventures  at  sea  he  had  in  1812 
almost  four  hundred  thousand  dollars  invested  in 
farm  acres  and  lots  and  buildings  in  Philadelphia.  In 
1812  the  United  States  declared  war  against  Great 
Britain.  Bad  feeling  had  long  existed,  due  primarily 
to  the  disregard  of  the  British  for  the  rights  of  Amer 
ican  vessels.  For  a  long  time  Great  Britain  persisted 
in  stopping  our  ships,  taking  American  seamen  out  of 
them  and  forcing  them  to  serve  on  British  vessels.  It 
was  more  than  patriotism  could  bear,  and  the  nation 
enthusiastically  entered  the  war  with  the  cry  of 
"  Free  Trade  and  Sailor's  Rights."  Forced  practically 
from  the  sea,  Girard  turned  his  great  abilities  to  fin 
ance  and  the  service  of  his  country. 

Girard  was  now  sixty-two  years  old,  but  age  did  not 
deter  him  from  a  new  enterprise.  A  bank  had  long  been 
needed  in  Philadelphia,  and  to  take  advantage  of  the 
opportunity,  Girard  established  a  banking  institution 
with  a  capital  of  over  a  million  dollars,  which  was 
called  Stephen  Girard's  Bank.  The  cost  of  the  war 
which  was  being  fought  with  Great  Britain  was  a 
severe  strain  on  the  finances  of  the  United  States,  and 
at  the  close  of  the  year  1812  it  became  necessary  for 
the  Treasury  to  borrow  money  or  the  nation  would  be 
come  bankrupt.  Sixteen  million  dollars  was  all  that 
was  required,  but  the  loan  was  a  failure,  and  less  than 
four  millions  was  subscribed.  In  April  a  newofferingof 
the  loan  was  prepared,  but  again  the  effort  to  float  it 
ended  in  failure.  In  all  only  $5,838,000  was  sub 
scribed.  More  than  ten  million  dollars  must  still  be 
borrowed. 


STEPHEN  GIRARD  13 

Now  came  an  opportunity  for  Girard  to  repay  to 
the  United  States  the  debt  of  gratitude  for  all  that  his 
citizenship  had  brought  him.  To  the  United  States 
he  owed  his  all,  for  in  this  free  and  fearless  country  he 
had  been  enabled  to  amass  his  great  fortune.  With 
two  other  men  of  means,  Girard  came  forward  and 
offered  to  subscribe  for  the  entire  balance  of  the  loan. 
The  offer  was  promptly  accepted,  and  a  situation  of 
great  embarrassment  to  the  country  was  avoided. 

With  the  defeat  of  Napoleon  at  Leipsic  in  1813, 
and  his  abdication  in  1814,  Great  Britain  found  her 
self  free  to  conduct  a  more  strenuous  attack  on  the 
United  States,  and  for  a  time  matters  went  badly 
with  the  youthful  nation.  A  British  raid  on  the  city  of 
Washington  resulted  in  the  burning  of  the  Capitol,  the 
President's  house,  and  other  public  buildings;  and 
this  was  followed  in  September  by  a  raid  on  Balti 
more,  which,  however,  resulted  in  failure.  Great 
panic  was  caused  by  these  actions,  and  for  a  time 
banking  was  demoralized  and  business  practically 
suspended.  But  on  Christmas  Eve,  1814,  a  treaty  of 
peace  was  signed  at  Ghent,  and  once  more  Girard 
promptly  resumed  his  world-wide  trading,  and  once 
more  the  Stars  and  Stripes  blew  free  from  halyards. 

Girard  suffered  two  severe  losses  by  reason  of  the 
war,  in  the  loss  of  his  ship  Good  Friends  and  in  a  ran 
som  of  $180,000  which  he  was  required  to  pay  for  his 
ship  Montesquieu  and  cargo,  captured  while  return 
ing  from  Canton,  China.  But  in  spite  of  this,  so  great 
ly  had  his  wealth  increased,  that  he  now  paid  more 
than  a  hundredth  part  of  the  total  taxes  of  the  city  of 


I4  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

Philadelphia  and  his  commercial  capital  was  suffi 
cient  to  enable  him  to  sell  goods  on  credit  and  to 
carry  on  a  maritime  business  throughout  the  world 
without  aid  of  discount.  "  All  this,"  he  has  stated,  "do 
I  owe  principally  to  my  close  attention  to  business, 
and  to  the  resources  which  this  fine  country  affords  to 
all  active  or  industrious  men." 

In  the  years  which  followed,  Girard  found  declining 
profit  in  European  cargoes  brought  to  Philadelphia, 
and  in  1821  he  began  to  trade  heavily  with  the  Far 
East.  Two  of  his  ships,  the  Voltaire  and  the  Montes 
quieu,  were  wrecked  during  this  period;  but  Girard 
was  as  good  a  loser  as  a  gainer,  and  pocketed  his 
losses  with  small  comment.  Out  of  his  fleet  only  four 
ships  remained.  Girard  was  now  an  old  man,  markets 
were  bad  owing  to  the  panic  in  England  and  on  the 
Continent,  and  the  prospect  for  continuous  profitable 
trading  seemed  ominous.  It  was  only  natural  that  he 
should  turn  from  the  sea. 

Speculation  in  land  had  proved  to  be  as  fascinating 
as  his  speculations  in  ships  and  cargoes.  Girard  began 
to  buy  land,  and  soon  his  total  holdings  amounted  in 
all  to  200,370  acres.  In  March  1830  he  purchased  for 
$30,000  certain  tracts  of  Pennsylvania  coal  lands 
which  have  to-day  a  fabulous  value.  But  the  land 
which  chiefly  held  his  interest  was  those  few  acres  of 
his  farm.  "  At  my  age  the  sole  amusement  which  I  en 
joy  is  to  be  in  the  country  constantly  busy  in  attend 
ing  to  the  work  of  the  farm  generally."  The  peace  and 
happiness  of  this  final  episode  made  a  happy  ending  of 
Girard's  long,  useful,  and  successful  life. 


STEPHEN  GIRARD  15 

"The  accumulation  of  money  interested  him  but 
little.  He  had  now  entered  on  his  eighty-first  year. 
His  will  was  made  and  his  great  wealth  dedicated  to 
the  good  of  posterity.  He  was  under  no  incentive  to 
labor  for  its  increase.  Yet  in  his  bank,  in  his  counting- 
house,  on  his  farm,  he  continued  to  toil  as  of  old  from 
the  sheer  love  of  work." 

At  the  time  of  his  death  in  1831,  Girard  had  for 
fifty-five  years  been  a  resident  of  Philadelphia,  and 
for  practically  his  entire  mature  life  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States.  His  funeral  was  of  "  immense  extent"; 
the  streets  were  thronged  by  people  assembled  to  pay 
"  a  last  tribute  of  respect  to  a  great  public  benefactor." 

The  estate  left  by  Girard  amounted  to  almost 
seven  million  dollars,  an  amount  which,  in  considera 
tion  of  the  times,  would  compare  with  the  greatest 
fortunes  of  the  present  day.  By  the  terms  of  his  will, 
although  there  were  many  large  charitable  bequests, 
the  bulk  of  the  fortune  was  bequeathed  to  the  city  of 
Philadelphia,  to  be  used  in  building  and  maintaining  a 
school  "to  provide  for  such  a  number  of  poor  male 
white  orphan  children  ...  a  better  education  as  well 
as  a  more  comfortable  maintenance  than  they  usu 
ally  receive  from  the  application  of  the  public  funds." 

Certain  other  provisions  have  kept  alive  the  mem 
ory  of  the  testator's  downrightness  and  individuality. 
In  a  paragraph  of  the  will,  Girard  enjoined  and  re 
quired  that "  no  ecclesiastic,  missionary,  or  minister  of 
any  sect  whatsoever  shall  ever  hold  or  exercise  any 
station  or  duty  whatever  in  the  said  college,  nor  shall 
any  such  person  ever  be  admitted  for  any  purpose,  or 


16  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

as  a  visitor,  within  the  premises  appropriated  to  the 
purposes  of  the  said  college.  In  making  this  restric 
tion,  I  do  not  mean  to  cast  any  reflection  upon  any 
sect  or  person  whatever;  but  as  there  is  such  a  multi 
tude  of  sects,  and  such  diversity  of  opinion  among 
them,  I  desire  to  keep  the  tender  minds  of  the  or 
phans,  who  are  to  derive  advantage  from  this  be 
quest,  free  from  the  excitements  which  clashing  doc 
trines  and  sectarian  controversy  are  apt  to  produce." 

Under  the  wise  management  of  the  trustees  of  the 
estate,  the  public  bequests  of  Girard  can  now  be  reck 
oned  in  millions.  By  the  thrift,  daring,  and  vision  of 
a  poor  French  sailor  lad  a  great  city  of  a  mighty  na 
tion  has  received  incalculable  benefit  throughout  a 
century  past,  and  will  receive  increasing  benefit  for 
centuries  to  come.  Grasping  eagerly  the  unlimited  op 
portunities  of  the  Republic  where  all  men  stand  sure 
footed  in  the  equal  race  for  the  highest  rewards  that 
civilization  can  bestow,  he  seized  for  himself  the  hon 
ors  of  high  citizenship,  the  satisfaction  of  sincere  phil 
anthropy,  and  the  pleasures  that  the  possession  of 
vast  wealth  profitably  employed  can  bring. 

To  every  boy  of  foreign  birth  the  United  States  to 
day  holds  equal  promise.  Not  in  mass  movements, 
where  progress  is  measured  in  the  terms  of  the  slow 
est,  is  the  reward  to  be  achieved.  Only  by  effort  hon 
estly  and  sincerely  given,  in  a  land  where  opportunity 
is  free  to  all,  can  the  heights  be  reached.  America,  old 
est  of  republics,  cradle  of  liberty,  extends  its  welcome 
to  the  youth  that  is  and  is  to  come,  as  its  welcome 
has  been  extended  to  the  youth  of  generations  past. 


II 

JOHN   ERICSSON 

Born  in  Nordmark,  Sweden,  1803 
Died  in  New  York  City,  1889 

HIGH  up  in  the  dark  forests  of  Wermland,  an  ancient 
division  of  Sweden,  where  deep  cold  lakes  feed  the 
great  rivers  with  clear  water  and  send  them  down  the 
mountains  to  the  sea,  was  born,  in  the  year  1803,  a 
baby,  John  Ericsson,  who  in  the  years  that  followed 
made  for  himself  a  name  which  brought  glory  to  the 
United  States,  the  land  of  his  adoption,  and  undying 
fame  to  the  country  of  his  birth. 

There  were  few  comforts  or  pleasures  waiting  to 
welcome  young  Ericsson  into  the  world.  The  little 
village  where  he  was  born  rested  high  in  the  moun 
tains  within  six  degrees  of  the  Arctic  Circle.  All 
around  were  dark  and  gloomy  forests,  filled  with 
strange  legends  and  tales  of  ancient  heroes,  handed 
down  from  grandfather  to  father  and  from  father  to 
son.  The  hard  thin  soil  of  the  mountains  was  unfit 
for  cultivation,  and  it  was  difficult  for  the  people  of 
the  forest  villages  to  live  on  the  poor  crops  which  they 
produced  in  the  few  acres  hewn  from  the  forests. 

But  down  beneath  the  tree-roots,  deep-lying  in  the 
mountain-sides,  were  vast  deposits  of  iron  ore,  re 
nowned  throughout  the  world  as  the  material  of  the 
finest  cutlery.  So  the  deep  iron-mines  gave  to  the 


1 8  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

inhabitants  of  these  mountain  villages  a  hard-earned 
living  which  tempered  their  own  spirits  with  that 
same  quality  which  the  Swedish  iron  developed  in  the 
blade  of  steel. 

Olaf  Ericsson,  the  father  of  John,  was  part  owner  of 
a  small  iron-mine  and  also  superintendent  of  an  iron 
works,  and  so  the  small  boy,  with  few  playmates  and 
none  of  the  school  advantages  of  the  American  lad  of 
the  present  day,  found  his  play  and  early  education  in 
the  machinery  at  the  mine  and  foundry.  He  was  an 
industrious  boy,  and  he  was  quick  to  discover  the  in 
terest  and  inspiration  of  the  things  which  surrounded 
him.  All  day,  with  pieces  of  paper,  a  pencil,  and  some 
drawing-tools  which  he  had  made  for  himself,  he 
studied  the  principles  of  the  machines  and  drew  clear 
designs  of  them  to  illustrate  their  construction. 

When  John  was  eleven  years  old,  his  father  left  the 
mining  village  of  Langbanshyttan  and  took  with  him 
his  wife  and  his  three  children:  John,  Nils,  a  year 
older  than  John,  and  a  sister,  the  oldest  of  the  three. 
For  many  years  the  Swedish  Government  had  con 
sidered  the  building  of  a  great  ship-canal  which 
would  open  navigation  across  the  Swedish  peninsular, 
and  it  was  as  foreman  of  this  project  that  Olaf  Erics 
son  settled  his  family  at  Forsvik,  a  hundred  miles 
from  the  old  mountain  home. 

The  mechanical  features  of  this  great  engineering 
work  filled  young  Ericsson  with  wonder  and  enthusi 
asm,  and  in  his  eagerness  to  obtain  knowledge,  in  or 
der  that  he  too  might  participate,  he  sought  informa 
tion  and  education  from  everyone  who  had  the  time 


•PI 


JOHN  ERICSSON  19 

and  inclination  to  help  him.  From  a  boarder  in  his 
father's  household  John  learned  to  draw  maps  and 
plans  with  skill  and  accuracy.  A  friendly  professor 
aided  his  architectural  drawing,  and  one  winter  he 
studied  chemistry  and  learned  to  make  his  own  inks 
and  colors  with  a  few  pennies'  worth  of  chemicals 
bought  from  the  town  druggist.  In  these  years  he  also 
learned  the  French  language,  Latin,  and  grammar;  a 
fine  foundation  which  enabled  him  in  after  years  to 
express  himself  in  speech  and  writing  with  a  clearness 
and  exactness  that  proved  of  immeasurable  assistance 
to  him. 

At  the  age  of  twelve  the  boy  had  so  progressed  in 
his  studies  that  he  was  commissioned  to  make  some 
drawings  for  the  canal  company;  and  in  the  following 
year  he  became  assistant  leveler,  and  a  year  later, 
leveler.  In  this  work  he  was  required  to  make  plans 
and  calculations  for  the  canal,  and  had  a  monthly 
salary,  quarters,  and  traveling  expenses.  Undoubt 
edly  John  possessed  unusual  ability,  but  this  extraor 
dinary  promotion  of  so  young  a  boy  must  in  large 
measure  have  been  the  result  of  his  conscientious  de 
votion  to  his  studies  and  his  enthusiasm  and  ambition 
in  his  work. 

In  his  leisure  hours  the  boy  found  pleasure  in  build 
ing  small  working  models  of  machinery,  and  among 
these  was  a  model  of  a  saw-mill  which  many  years 
later  he  counted  as  the  first  in  the  long  list  of  cele 
brated  inventions  which  had  brought  him  fame  and 
prosperity.  This  model  was  built  entirely  of  wood, 
with  the  exception  of  the  band-saw,  which  was  filed 

I 


20  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

out  by  hand  from  a  broken  watch-spring  and  was  op 
erated  by  a  crank  cast  from  an  old  tin  spoon.  A  cord 
served  for  the  driving-band.  No  detail  was  omitted, 
and  when  water  was  turned  into  the  miniature  water- 
wheel,  the  machinery  operated  perfectly.  With  simi 
lar  ingenuity  he  made  for  himself  draughtsman's 
compasses,  from  birchwood  and  broken  needles;  and 
from  the  hairs  in  an  old  fur  garment  of  his  mother's 
he  laboriously  fashioned  brushes  with  which  to  apply 
colors,  also  of  his  own  making,  to  his  drawings. 

But  now  the  father's  health  broke  beneath  the 
weight  of  his  work;  the  small  earnings  which  sup 
ported  the  family  dwindled,  and  each  year  that  went 
by  gave  to  the  growing  boys  added  responsibilities. 
In  1820  John  realized  that  the  time  had  come  for  him 
to  take  his  own  path  and  begin  actively  to  build  for  his 
future.  His  father  had  died  in  the  previous  year  and 
his  mother  and  sister  were  supporting  themselves  by 
taking  as  boarders  the  workers  on  the  canal.  It  was 
necessary  that  he  also  should  contribute  to  their 
comfort. 

Realizing  the  physical  and  moral  value  of  military 
training,  young  Ericsson  joined  the  Swedish  army. 
He  was  now  seventeen,  a  fine  powerful  fellow  with 
smooth  active  muscles,  a  clear  eye,  and  a  well-trained 
brain.  When  he  was  eighteen  there  were  few,  if  any, 
of  his  fellows  who  could  match  him  in  feats  of  strength 
or  agility,  and  on  one  occasion  he  is  said  to  have  lifted 
a  cannon  weighing  over  six  hundred  pounds. 

Advancement  came  rapidly,  and  he  was  soon  rec 
ognized  as  an  expert  artillery  draughtsman  and  an 


JOHN  ERICSSON  21 

expert  in  the  science  of  artillery,  a  branch  of  the  service 
in  which  he  had  begun  to  specialize.  It  will  be  inter 
esting  to  see  how  this  early  army  experience  gave  to 
Ericsson  knowledge  which  in  later  life  brought  him 
his  greatest  fame  and  enabled  him  to  turn  the  tide  of 
history  and  hold  nations  attentive  before  his  words. 

The  stirring  mind  of  the  young  man  now  yearned 
for  a  wider  horizon  than  the  Swedish  army  afforded, 
and  for  a  greater  opportunity  than  his  own  country 
presented.  For  several  years  he  had  been  experiment 
ing  with  a  new  type  of  engine  by  which  he  hoped  to 
obtain  greater  horse-power  with  economy  of  fuel. 
England  seemed  to  offer  the  opportunity,  and  in  1826 
he  left  his  native  land  and  took  up  his  residence  in 
London. 

Ericsson  went  to  England  at  the  opening  of  an  en 
gineering  era.  The  employment  of  steam  as  a  motive 
power  was  in  its  infancy.  Travel  by  sea  was  entirely 
by  ships ;  on  land  the  stage-coach  and  canal-boat  fur 
nished  the  only  means  of  transportation.  The  steam- 
engine  was  an  undeveloped  toy  of  science.  Electricity 
in  its  industrial  application  was  unknown. 

Forming  a  business  partnership  with  an  English 
machine  manufacturer,  John  Braithwaite,  under  the 
firm  name  of  Ericsson  and  Braithwaite,  Ericsson  im 
mediately  turned  his  tremendous  faculties  to  various 
engineering  improvements  and  inventions.  First  a 
gas-engine  occupied  his  interest;  then  he  turned  to  his 
former  conception  of  a  "flame-engine,"  in  which,  by 
putting  the  actual  fire  directly  under  the  piston,  the 
expanding  air  would  supply  the  motor  power.  In  1 828 


22  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

he  built  and  put  into  operation  in  a  tin-mine  in  Corn 
wall  a  water-pump  driven  by  compressed  air  —  an 
invention  on  which  he  later  based  his  claim  as  in 
ventor  of  a  machine  utilizing  compressed  air  for  trans 
mitting  power. 

It  was  in  the  year  1819  that  the  Atlantic  was  for  the 
first  time  crossed  by  a  steam  vessel,  the  United  States 
ship  Savannah,  and  this  revolutionizing  event  stimu 
lated  Ericsson  to  new  endeavors.  In  the  months  follow 
ing  he  produced  a  number  of  important  improvements 
by  which  smaller  and  lighter  boilers  were  made  possi 
ble  by  increasing  the  heat,  and  hence  the  power,  of  the 
fire  by  forced  draught,  as  well  as  many  other  radical 
improvements  in  steam-engines  and  boiler-construc 
tion.  Of  these  he  claims  particularly  the  credit  of  the 
invention  of  "surface  condensation  applied  to  steam 
navigation." 

The  first  steam  fire-engine  —  an  apparatus  which 
to-day  constitutes  perhaps  the  most  important  fea 
ture  of  a  city's  fire  department  —  was  invented  and 
built  by  Ericsson  in  1829.  Previously,  and  as  a  mat 
ter  of  fact  for  years  afterward,  hand-operated  engines, 
manned  by  crews  of  volunteer  firemen,  fought  the 
fires  which  so  frequently  destroyed  vast  sections  of 
the  wood-constructed  cities  of  those  early  days.  It  is 
not  surprising  that  this  valuable  invention  did  not 
receive  immediate  recognition,  for  inventors  rarely 
obtain  such  recognition  from  the  people  whom  their 
inventions  benefit.  In  fact,  Ericsson's  portable  steam 
fire-engine  was  actually  condemned  as  an  impracti 
cable  contrivance  that  could  serve  no  useful  purpose. 


JOHN  ERICSSON  23 

To-day  we  travel  thousands  of  miles  by  railroad;  a 
hundred  years  ago  our  great-great-grandfathers  trav 
eled  by  horse-drawn  coaches.  Where  we  may  now 
speed  a  mile  a  minute  behind  a  giant  steam  locomo 
tive,  they  were  content  with  what  seemed  to  them 
the  tremendous  speed  of  eleven  miles  an  hour.  But 
all  things  change.  There  are  always  leaders  in  the 
world's  progress.  Of  these  leaders  was  John  Ericsson. 
Travel  had  been  a  luxury  of  the  rich;  the  invention 
of  the  steam  locomotive  made  fast  and  economical 
travel  possible  to  the  poor  as  well. 

In  1829  a  prize  of  two  thousand  five  hundred  dol 
lars  was  offered  for  the  best  steam  locomotive  which 
could  draw  a  weight  of  twenty  tons  at  the  rate  of  ten 
miles  an  hour.  Ericsson  had  never  built  a  locomotive, 
but  he  entered  the  contest.  His  greatest  competitor 
was  George  Stephenson,  who  for  several  years  had 
built  small  locomotives  for  use  in  coal  mines. 

On  the  great  day  of  the  trial  thousands  of  people 
thronged  the  track  to  witness  the  novel  sight.  Never 
in  the  world's  history  had  there  been  a  public  experi 
ment  so  momentous,  unless  we  except  the  journey 
of  the  American  inventor's  steamship,  the  Clermont, 
on  her  first  historic  progress  up  the  Hudson  River. 

The  locomotive  entered  in  the  contest  by  Stephen- 
son  was  named  the  Rocket,  a  stong  well-built  engine 
that  ultimately  was  awarded  the  prize.  But  although 
he  was  not  the  winner  in  this  great  competition,  to 
Ericsson  belongs  great  credit,  for  his  locomotive,  the 
Novelty,  passed  the  Rocket  at  the  amazing  speed,  for 
those  days,  of  thirty  miles  an  hour,  and  failed  to  win 


24  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

the  prize  only  because  of  certain  defects  in  its  con 
struction  which  caused  it  to  break  down  before  the 
goal  was  reached. 

Ericsson  was  twenty-six  years  old  when  he  built  the 
Novelty.  Already  he  had  contributed  many  useful  in 
ventions  to  the  world.  But  his  greatest  triumphs 
were  still  to  come.  He  had  been  beaten  fairly  and 
squarely  by  Stephenson,  but  his  was  not  the  spirit 
that  is  easily  subdued.  Ericsson,  like  the  hero  of 
Greek  mythology,  rose  the  stronger  each  time  an  ad 
versary  cast  him  to  the  earth. 

In  1836  he  married  a  nineteen-year-old  English  girl, 
Amelia  Byam,  granddaughter  of  Sir  Charles  Byam, 
some  time  British  Commissioner  for  Antigua. 

For  a  short  time  he  devoted  himself  to  the  perfection 
of  a  hot-air  engine,  and  a  sounding  device  by  which 
ships  might  ascertain  the  depth  of  the  water  over 
which  they  were  passing.  Then  he  turned  to  a  new  ac 
tivity.  The  result  was  revolutionary.  What  he  had  al 
most  accomplished  in  the  field  of  land-transportation 
with  the  Novelty,  he  now  actually  achieved  in  steam- 
navigation  on  the  sea.  To  Ericsson  should  be  credited 
the  perfection  and  application  of  the  screw  for  the 
propulsion  of  steam-driven  vessels. 

Up  to  the  dawn  of  the  nineteenth  century  the  sail 
ing-ship  had  ruled  the  seas.  And  even  until  the  middle 
of  that  century  the  fast  clippers,  with  their  towers  of 
widespread  canvas,  had  held  supreme  domination 
over  the  world's  waterways.  But  in  the  year  1835 
Ericsson  designed  a  rotary  propeller  driven  by  a 
steam-engine,  which  marked  the  beginning  of  the  end 


JOHN  ERICSSON  25 

of  sailing  days.  The  steam-engine,  first  placed  in  a 
ship  by  Robert  Fulton,  the  American  inventor,  was 
no  novelty,  but  it  had  been  used  only  to  propel  ves 
sels  by  means  of  paddle-wheels  attached  to  each  side 
of  the  vessels,  huge  cumbersome  contrivances,  which 
were  easily  damaged  by  heavy  seas  and  which  on 
ships  of  war  afforded  easy  targets  for  the  enemy. 

The  screw  of  Ericsson's  was  designed  to  operate  un 
derneath  the  stern  of  the  vessel,  under  water  and  just 
forward  of  the  rudder,  exactly  as  it  is  placed  to-day. 
To  test  this  new  invention  Ericsson  built  a  small  ves 
sel,  the  Francis  B.  Ogden,  which  was  launched  in  the 
Thames  River  in  the  spring  of  1837.  The  experiment 
was  a  great  success  and  a  speed  of  over  ten  miles  an 
hour  was  attained,  to  the  wonder  of  the  stolid  Eng 
lish  boatmen  who  watched  in  amazement  this  strange 
ship  move  rapidly  through  the  water  with  no  visible 
means  of  propulsion. 

Later  in  the  summer  Ericsson  invited  the  Lords  of 
the  British  Admiralty  to  inspect  his  steamship,  and 
even  conducted  them  on  a  trial  trip  on  the  Thames; 
but  the  amazing  performance  of  the  Ogden  created  but 
little  interest  in  the  minds  of  the  British  officials,  who 
dismissed  the  affair  as  an  "interesting  experiment." 

But  Ericsson  had  a  friend  who  stood  him  in  good 
stead.  This  friend  was  an  American,  Francis  B.  Og 
den,  our  counsul  at  Liverpool,  after  whom  Ericsson's 
first  vessel  was  named.  Ogden  was  not  an  engineer, 
but  he  recognized  in  the  Swedish  inventor  a  man  of 
sincerity  and  genius,  and  to  his  friendship  Ericsson 
owed  much  in  the  way  of  advice  and  assistance. 


26  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

In  1838  Ericsson  built  and  launched  a  larger  steam 
ship,  the  Robert  F.  Stockton  which  sailed  from 
Gravesend,  England,  on  April  13,  1839,  and  made  a 
successful  passage  to  New  York  City,  the  first  screw- 
driven  steamship  ever  to  cross  the  Atlantic.  As  the 
result  of  this  remarkable  achievement  Ericsson  was 
assured  that  the  government  of  the  United  States 
would  try  out  his  invention  on  a  large  scale,  and 
persuaded  him  to  go  to  America. 

Ericsson  was  not  reluctant.  For  years  he  had 
struggled  under  the  old-world  conservatism.  With  his 
energy  and  ambition,  he  realized  that  only  in  the  great 
land  of  opportunity  beyond  the  sea  could  lie  his  hope 
of  recognition.  In  November,  1839,  he  sailed  for  the 
United  States. 

There  were  no  steam  vessels  in  our  navy  when 
Ericsson  reached  our  shores,  and  it  was  not  until  1842 
that  the  building  of  the  Princeton  gave  him  the  op 
portunity  to  display  his  great  invention.  The  Prince 
ton  was  a  small  iron  warship  of  six  hundred  tons,  and 
to  her  construction  Ericsson  contributed  not  only  his 
screw-propeller,  but  also  a  new  construction  for  the 
gun-carriage,  and,  of  even  greater  importance,  a  can 
non  reinforced  by  steel  hoops  shrunk  on  to  the  breech 
of  the  gun.  This  reinforcing  of  the  breech  of  a  cannon 
may  be  said  to  have  established  the  recognized  con 
struction  of  the  modern  high-power  naval  guns  of  the 
present  day. 

The  Princeton  marked  a  new  advance  in  naval  con 
struction.  Her  speed,  the  location  of  her  machin 
ery  below  the  water-line  and  hence  out  of  danger 


JOHN  ERICSSON  27 

from  an  enemy's  guns,  her  novel  screw-propulsion, 
and  her  powerful  armament  made  her  the  centre,  not 
only  of  national,  but  of  world  interest. 

For  a  number  of  years  following,  Ericsson  contin 
ued  his  development  of  the  science  of  naval  engineer 
ing,  and  in  1843  applied  for  the  first  time  twin-screw 
engines  to  the  steamship  Marmora.  During  these 
years  recognition  began  to  bring  to  the  great  inventor 
the  financial  rewards  which  he  had  long  deserved.  In 
the  year  1844  his  receipts  from  his  inventions  and  con 
tracts  amounted  to  almost  $40,000,  and  the  following 
year  he  received  almost  $85,000.  But  the  road  to 
wealth  and  glory  contains  many  obstacles,  and  the  suc 
cesses  that  crowned  the  work  of  these  few  years  were 
in  a  large  measure  balanced  by  reverses,  although  in 
the  end  triumph  out-balanced  all. 

For  several  years  Ericsson  devoted  his  energies  to 
the  perfection  of  a  model  type  of  warship,  but  his 
untiring  efforts  received  scant  recognition  from  the 
government.  October  28,  1848,  was,  however,  a  day 
memorable,  not  only  in  the  life  of  Ericsson,  but  in  the 
history  of  the  United  States,  for  on  that  day  he  be 
came  a  naturalized  citizen.  Born  in  a  foreign  land,  a 
sojourner  in  European  countries,  it  was  but  natural 
that  the  Swedish  genius  should  find  in  this  young 
nation  of  opportunity  the  field  which  he  needed 
for  the  expression  of  his  wonderful  faculties.  By 
his  naturalization,  Ericsson  brought  to  the  United 
States  the  fine  inheritance  of  an  ancient  nation,  and 
infused  into  the  blood  of  the  new  republic  addi 
tional  strength  and  virility.  Save  for  the  native 


28  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

Indian,  there  is  no  true  American;  but  in  the  mingled 
blood  of  the  people  of  many  lands  may  be  found  to 
day  a  race  that  combines  the  best  of  the  nations  of  the 
earth,  a  composite  people,  free,  prosperous,  and  mas 
ters  of  their  own  glorious  destiny. 

For  many  years  Ericsson  had  held  faith  in  the 
theory  of  a  hot-air  engine  in  which  heated  air  would 
produce  the  effect  of  steam,  but  with  greater  economy. 
With  characteristic  confidence  he  carried  his  experi 
ments  to  their  completion,  and  expended  practically 
his  entire  capital  on  the  necessary  models  and  ma 
chines  which  the  working-out  of  his  plans  required. 
Success  crowned  his  efforts,  and  the  hot-air,  or  caloric, 
engine  was  generally  conceded  to  be  a  success. 

As  the  result  of  these  experiments  a  number  of  New 
York  capitalists  supplied  the  necessary  money  to 
construct  a  large  steamship,  the  paddle-wheels  of 
which  were  operated  by  caloric  engines  designed  by 
Ericsson.  The  vessel  was  named  after  the  inventor 
and  was  a  most  novel  and  radical  departure  from  any 
vessel  up  to  that  time  designed.  Her  cost  exceeded 
half  a  million  dollars:  an  investment  which  showed 
the  high  esteem  in  which  her  designer  was  held.  The 
Ericsson  was  launched  in  September,  1852,  and  made 
her  trial  trip  on  January  4,  1853.  Never  had  so  strong 
or  fine  a  ship  been  built;  the  newspapers  of  the  day 
were  filled  with  praise,  and  her  designer  received  from 
every  quarter  the  most  extravagant  congratulations 
for  the  mechanical  marvel  which  he  had  created. 

But  unexpected  disaster  destroyed  in  a  few  seconds 
the  product  of  these  months  of  thought  and  energy. 


JOHN  ERICSSON  29 

Within  a  few  weeks  of  her  launching  the  Ericsson 
encountered  a  tornado,  and  capsized  and  sank  a  few 
miles  off  New  York  Light.  Although  she  was  be 
lieved  by  many  to  mark  the  end  of  the  use  of  steam- 
power  and  the  beginning  of  a  new  era  of  hot-air 
dynamics,  it  is  now  recognized  that  this  invention 
reached  its  maximum  development  in  the  Ericsson; 
and  it  is  in  connection  with  a  later  and  far  greater  in 
vention  that  history  has  accorded  recognition  to  the 
designer's  great  mechanical  genius. 

Long  before  Ericsson  left  England  he  had  thought 
out  the  plans  for  a  strange  kind  of  vessel,  protected 
with  iron,  which  would  be  able  to  fight  and  defeat 
any  warship  of  any  size.  In  1854,  the  year  in  which 
he  perfected  the  plan  for  his  new  type  of  warship, 
the  navies  of  all  the  great  nations  were  composed,  in 
large  part,  of  huge  wooden  vessels,  usually  sailing- 
ships,  but  a  few  combining  sails  and  steam.  For  a 
number  of  years  the  use  of  iron-plating,  or  armor,  on 
the  sides  of  battleships  had  been  discussed,  and  in 
1845  R.  L.  Stevens,  an  American  engineer,  actually 
began  the  construction  of  a  vessel,  or  "floating  bat 
tery,"  encased  in  metal. 

To  France  however,  probably  belongs  the  credit  for 
the  construction  of  the  first  ironclads,  consisting  of 
these  floating  batteries,  the  Lave,  Devastation,  and 
Tonnante,  protected  by  4.25-inch  iron  plates,  which 
were  used  during  the  Crimean  War.  The  following 
year  France  began  the  construction  of  four  ironclad 
steam  frigates,  and  England  immediately  followed, 
with  the  construction  of  a  number  of  similar  vessels. 


30  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

But  the  warship  of  John  Ericsson  in  no  way  resem 
bled  the  huge  ironclads  of  France  or  England.  With 
characteristic  disregard  for  precedent  he  designed  a 
ship  which  rested  so  low  in  the  water  that  only  about 
three  feet  of  its  sides  would  be  exposed.  The  sides 
and  deck  were  protected  by  heavy  plates  of  iron,  and 
in  the  centre  of  the  deck  was  a  circular  heavily  ar 
mored  turret  which  revolved  in  either  direction 
and  contained  powerful  guns.  These  vessels,  or 
monitors,  as  Ericsson  named  them,  were  to  be  pro 
pelled  by  steam.  The  particular  advantages  of  the 
type  were  that  so  little  of  the  craft  showed  above  the 
water  that  it  afforded  an  exceedingly  small  target  to 
an  enemy;  that  the  heavy  plating  protected  it  from 
hostile  shot,  and  the  revolving  target  enabled  the 
crew  to  fire  in  any  direction  without  manoeuvring  the 
vessel,  while  such  shot  as  might  strike  the  turret 
would  glance  harmlessly  from  its  circular  side. 

During  the  Crimean  War  Ericsson  offered  the  plans 
for  this  remarkable  vessel  to  the  French  Emperor;  but 
they  were  politely  declined  as  impractical  in  much 
the  same  way  in  which,  some  years  earlier,  the  British 
Admiralty  had  declined  to  consider  the  screw-pro 
peller  as  little  more  than  an  amusing  experiment. 

When  war  was  declared  in  1861  between  the  North 
ern  States  and  the  Confederate  States  of  the  South, 
Ericsson  was  fifty-eight  years  old.  In  this  national 
calamity  in  which  brother  was  armed  against  brother, 
and  the  fate  of  the  country  seemed  hanging  by  a 
thread,  Ericsson  unhesitatingly  cast  himself  with 
those  who  sought  the  preservation  of  the  Union  and 


JOHN  ERICSSON  31 

the  abolition  of  slavery  from  the  United  States. 
Never  before  had  his  adopted  country  needed  so  vi 
tally  his  tremendous  services.  With  superb  health 
derived  from  a  normal  life  of  conservative  habits, 
and  a  brain  trained  by  long  years  of  engineering  ex 
periment,  Ericsson  found  himself  ready  and  able  to 
meet  the  call  for  his  greatest  service  to  the  nation. 

The  United  States  navy  at  the  beginning  of  the 
war  was  composed  entirely  of  wooden  vessels.  Early 
in  1 86 1  the  Confederates  began  the  construction  of  a 
floating  battery  heavily  armored  with  iron.  For  this 
purpose  the  old  United  States  frigate  Merrimac, 
which  had  been  burned  and  sunk  in  the  Norfolk  Navy 
Yard,  was  raised,  and  the  work  of  encasing  her  with 
armor  plates  was  begun. 

Meanwhile,  in  the  North,  Congress  had  called  for 
proposals  for  ironclad  steam  vessels,  and  less  than  a 
month  later,  Ericsson  addressed  to  President  Lincoln 
a  letter  in  which  he  offered  to  submit  the  plans  of  a 
monitor,  and  described  the  advantages  of  its  unique 
design.  On  September  13,  Ericsson  went  to  Wash 
ington  and  personally  laid  before  the  Navy  Depart 
ment  his  plans  and  received  a  contract  to  proceed  with 
the  construction  of  the  Monitor. 

The  keel  was  laid  on  October  25,  and  on  January 
30,  she  slid  down  the  ways  into  the  water.  A  month 
later  she  was  commissioned.  The  Monitor  was  172 
feet  in  length  and  displaced  776  tons.  In  the  centre  of 
her  low  flat  deck  was  the  revolving  turret,  twenty  feet 
in  diameter,  protected  by  eight  inches  of  iron-plating. 
Two  heavy  guns  were  mounted  in  the  turret.  The 


32  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

vessel  was  operated  entirely  by  steam-engines,  placed 
well  below  the  water-line,  which  propelled  a  screw  be 
neath  the  overhanging  stern. 

Rushed  to  completion  in  the  brief  period  of  three 
months,  the  Monitor  was  barely  commissioned  in 
time  to  render,  at  Hampton  Roads,  the  tremendous 
service  which  in  a  few  brief  hours  revolutionized  naval 
warfare,  made  obsolete  the  navies  of  the  world,  res 
cued  the  Union  navy  from  crushing  disaster,  and  im 
mortalized  the  name  of  John  Ericsson,  her  designer 
and  constructor. 

The  Monitor  had  been  intended  to  serve  with  Ad 
miral  Farragut's  fleet  at  New  Orleans,  but  a  crisis 
nearer  at  hand  made  a  sudden  change  of  plans  neces 
sary.  The  Monitor  left  New  York  on  the  afternoon  of 
March  6, 1862,  under  command  of  Lieutenant  John  L. 
Worden,  U.S.N.,  and  arrived  at  Hampton  Roads  on 
the  evening  of  March  8,  after  a  stormy  passage. 

Meanwhile  the  armored  Confederate  ram  Merri- 
mac  had  created  havoc  with  the  great  wooden  war 
ships  of  the  Federal  navy.  On  the  seventh,  the  Mer- 
rimac  had  rammed  and  sunk  the  frigate  Cumberland, 
and  then  destroyed  the  Congress,  vessels  powerless  to 
inflict  injury  on  the  iron  sides  of  the  Confederate  ram. 
The  tall  frigates,  St.  Lawrence,  Roanoke,  and  Min 
nesota,  powerless  to  resist  or  to  escape,  awaited  their 
inevitable  destruction  on  the  following  day. 

But  on  that  eventful  morning,  as  the  Merrimac 
steamed  out  into  the  stream  to  complete  her  work, 
which  would  break  the  blockade  the  Federal  forces 
had  established,  the  Monitor  glided  out  from  under 


JOHN  ERICSSON  33 

the  stern  of  the  Minnesota,  looking  for  all  the  world 
like  "a  barrel-head  afloat  with  a  cheese-box  on  top 
of  it." 

For  four  hours  these  two  strange  vessels  fought  this 
greatest  duel  of  naval  history,  which,  on  the  ships  and 
the  shores,  was  watched  by  the  anxious  eyes  of  sol 
diers  and  sailors  of  North  and  South  to  whom  the  out 
come  was  of  such  tremendous  import.  Manoeuvring 
like  boxers,  the  two  vessels  circled  each  other,  black 
smoke  pouring  from  their  low  funnels  and  the  red 
flame  of  the  great  guns  spurting  from  the  gun-ports. 
As  she  had  rammed  the  Cumberland,  so  did  the  Mer- 
rimac  endeavor  to  crush  the  Monitor  with  her  ram; 
but  the  Monitor  either  slipped  past  her  heavier  and 
more  ungainly  adversary  or  allowed  the  Merrimac  to 
push  her  aside.  Round  and  round  the  circular  turret 
swung,  turning  away  in  order  to  load  the  two  guns 
which  protruded,  and  then  swinging  back  to  deliver 
a  volley  of  metal  against  the  plated  sloping  side  of  the 
Merrimac. 

Unable  to  damage  the  Monitor  and  herself  severely 
pounded  by  the  forty-one  shots  which  the  Monitor 
had  fired,  the  Merrimac  finally  withdrew,  leaving  the 
strange  warship  of  the  Swedish-American  inventor 
the  victor.  The  Minnesota,  the  Roanoke,  and  the 
St.  Lawrence  were  saved.  The  blockade  remained 
unbroken. 

In  the  words  of  a  Confederate  who  witnessed  the 
battle,  "The  Monitor  was  by  immense  odds  the  most 
formidable  vessel  of  war  on  this  planet." 

During  the  following  years  of  the  war,  Ericsson 

4 


34  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

devoted  his  vast  energies  to  the  service  of  his  coun 
try,  and  at  great  financial  loss  and  immeasurable 
personal  sacrifice  constructed  a  large  number  of  ves 
sels  of  the  Monitor  type  for  the  navy. 

With  the  close  of  the  war  Ericsson  continued  the 
marvelous  series  of  inventions  which  he  had  given  to 
the  world.  For  a  number  of  years  he  gave  his  best 
thought  to  the  building  and  mounting  of  heavy  guns; 
and  later  he  turned  his  energies  to  the  construction  of 
a  practical  submarine  torpedo.  In  these  later  experi 
ments  he  personally  invested  over  a  hundred  thou 
sand  dollars. 

From  the  United  States  and  foreign  countries  came 
recognition  of  his  services  to  the  world.  In  1866  the 
Department  of  State  offered  him  the  appointment  of 
Commissioner  to  the  Universal  Exposition  at  Paris. 
The  previous  year  he  had  received  a  resolution  of 
thanks  from  the  Swedish  Parliament.  Among  other 
honors  conferred  upon  him  were  his  election  to  the 
Franklin  Institute  of  Philadelphia,  honorary  mem 
berships  in  the  Royal  Military  Academy  of  Science 
of  Stockholm  and  the  Royal  Military  Academy  of 
Sweden,  a  joint  resolution  of  thanks  from  the  United 
States  Congress,  a  resolution  from  the  State  of  New 
York,  the  Rumford  gold  and  silver  medals,  and  a  gold 
medal  from  the  Society  of  Iron  Masters  of  Sweden. 
In  1863  he  received  the  honorary  degree  of  LL.D. 
from  Wesleyan  University;  and  later  he  was  made  a 
Knight  Commander  with  the  Grand  Cross  of  the 
order  of  the  North  Star  and  a  Commander  of  St.  Olaf, 
two  Swedish  honors.  In  later  years  came  many  other 


JOHN  ERICSSON  35 

distinctions,  not  only  from  the  United  States  and 
Sweden,  but  from  Denmark,  Spain,  and  Austria. 

In  these  later  years  came  also  many  demands  on 
Ericsson's  generosity,  and  to  the  near  members  of  his 
family,  and  even  to  his  most  distant  relatives,  he  in 
variably  responded  with  a  substantial  gift.  Realizing 
the  tremendous  value  of  education,  he  gave  freely 
when  money  was  needed  to  provide  schooling  for  the 
children  of  members  of  his  family  whom  he  had  never 
seen.  But  these  benefactions  to  relatives  and  friends 
were  invariably  made  only  when  Ericsson  believed  in 
the  true  need  and  the  sincerity  of  the  request.  Out  of 
the  considerable  income  which  came  to  him  from  his 
inventions  in  later  years  he  gave  also  with  a  liberal 
hand  whenever  public  or  private  distress  was  brought 
to  his  attention. 

Ericsson's  own  wants  were  few.  His  temperate 
habits,  his  love  of  physical  exercise,  and  his  simple 
tastes  made  but  slender  demands  on  his  income.  Vig 
orous  by  inheritance,  and  possessing  a  fine  physique 
from  his  early  activities,  he  preserved  his  splendid 
vigor  throughout  his  long  life.  Rarely  has  been  given 
to  the  world  a  finer  example  of  health  and  character 
contributing  to  a  career  of  splendid  usefulness. 

On  the  eighth  of  March,  1889,  John  Ericsson  died  in 
his  New  York  house,  where  for  a  quarter  of  a  century 
he  had  lived  his  active  and  solitary  existence.  The  sig 
nificance  of  his  death  was  recognized,  not  only  by  his 
native  Sweden  and  the  United  States,  the  land  of  his 
adoption,  but  by  the  entire  civilized  world,  in  which 
his  inventions  had  brought  such  revolutionizing 


36  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

changes.  But  the  story  of  his  achievements  can  never 
die,  and  in  the  history  of  his  useful  life  is  an  inspira 
tion  to  every  succeeding  generation  to  whom  the 
United  States  unfolds  an  ever-increasing  opportunity. 


HI 
LOUIS  AGASSIZ 

Born  in  Motier,  Switzerland,  1807 
Died  in  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  1873 

WHEN  men  first  received  the  names  which  they  have 
handed  down  through  succeeding  generations  there 
was  undoubtedly  an  appropriate  reason  for  the  name 
which  each  man  bore.  The  Smiths  quite  probably 
worked  with  iron,  the  Carpenters  labored  with  saw 
and  hammer,  and  the  son  of  John  became  Johnson  to 
his  friends.  But  centuries  have  passed,  and  it  rarely 
happens  to-day  that  a  man's  name  describes  his  voca 
tion  or  his  characteristics. 

Occasionally,  however,  there  is  an  exception,  and 
the  name  of  Agassiz  is  one  of  these.  Lover  of  nature, 
and  particularly  of  the  living  things  which  have  for 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  years  inhabited  the  earth, 
Louis  Agassiz  bore  a  name  that  suggested  his  ruling 
interests;  for  Agassiz,  or  Aigasse  as  it  was  written  in 
old  French,  is  the  name  of  the  magpie,  a  lovable, 
friendly  bird  that  was  known  to  every  peasant  in  the 
beautiful  countryside  of  La  Sarraz. 

Louis  Agassiz  was  a  naturalist  and  a  geologist. 
Wise  in  all  departments  of  these  wide  fields  of  nature 
study,  and  the  leading  teacher  in  his  time,  he  will  al 
ways  be  remembered  for  his  discoveries  in  two  partic 
ular  departments  of  his  great  subject.  Agassiz  was  an 


38  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

ichthyologist  and  a  palaeontologist.  These  are  hard 
Latin  names,  but  they  are  easily  understood,  for  an 
ichthyologist  is  a  man  who  studies  fishes,  and  a  palaeon 
tologist  is  one  who  is  a  student  of  the  ancient  life  of 
the  globe  as  it  may  be  seen  in  the  fossil  remains  deep 
buried  in  the  earth.  Moreover,  to  the  science  of  geol 
ogy  Agassiz  contributed  a  great  discovery  which  rev 
olutionized  the  thought  of  scientists  of  his  day;  for  it 
was  he  who  proved  beyond  all  doubt  that  at  one  time, 
far  back  in  the  world's  history,  great  moving  glaciers 
covered  a  huge  part  of  the  earth's  surface,  and  where 
now  the  summer  sunshine  warms  green  fields,  at  one 
time,  in  an  arctic  temperature,  these  same  lands  were 
deep  buried  under  grinding,  creeping  fields  of  ice. 

Not  far  from  Lake  Neuchatel,  in  western  Switzer 
land,  is  the  little  village  of  Motier,  a  place  so  small 
that  it  is  hard  to  find  it  on  the  maps  of  ordinary  at 
lases.  Below  the  village  the  blue  water  of  Lake  Morat 
gleams  like  a  bit  of  sky  in  the  green  of  hills  and  fields, 
and  beyond,  like  a  blue  wall  against  the  sky,  the  Ber 
nese  Alps  look  down  over  the  ancient  country. 

Here  on  May  28,  1807,  was  born  Jean  Louis  Ru 
dolph  Agassiz.  His  father  was  a  clergyman  and  his 
mother  the  daughter  of  a  physician,  and  the  boy  in 
herited  from  them  a  love  of  study  and  a  delight  in 
teaching  which  always  distinguished  him.  From  the 
beautiful  country  of  his  birth  came  also  an  inheritance 
of  nature  that  kept  him  throughout  his  long  life  al 
ways  a  boy  at  heart. 

The  lakes  of  Switzerland  are  among  the  oldest 
dwelling-places  of  mankind  since  human  life  began. 


LOUIS  AGASSIZ  39 

Beneath  the  waters  of  Lake  Morat  are  still  found 
traces  of  an  ancient  race  that  once  lived  there  in  huts 
built  over  the  water;  still  may  be  seen,  far  down  in  the 
blue  deeps,  the  earthen  vessels  which,  perhaps,  fell 
from  their  dwellings;  occasionally  are  found  the 
stumps  of  piles  on  which  their  houses  rested.  They 
were  a  water-loving  people,  and  Agassiz,  born  on  the 
shores  of  the  same  lake  as  this  ancient  people,  found 
in  the  water  a  natural  and  congenial  element. 

He  was  a  normal,  wholesome  boy,  but  from  the 
very  first  his  love  of  nature  displayed  itself  at  every 
turn.  He  delighted  in  birds  and  animals  and  insects, 
and  he  was  constantly  scouring  the  vineyard-clad 
hillsides  and  the  woods  and  meadows  for  new  speci 
mens.  But  it  was  on  the  waters  of  the  lakes  and  in 
their  cold  clear  depths  that  his  insatiate  curiosity 
found  its  greatest  gratification.  He  was  a  skilful  fish 
erman  and  he  soon  learned  the  haunts  and  habits  of 
every  kind  of  fish  that  dwelt  there.  With  his  brother 
Auguste,  the  bright  summer  days  fled  past  in  one  long 
excursion.  Like  the  fish  which  they  hunted,  the  boys 
found  in  the  lakes  a  friendly  element.  They  were 
splendid  swimmers,  so  skilled  that  they  would  often 
abandon  entirely  the  hook  and  line,  and,  diving  swiftly 
into  the  water,  catch  the  gliding  fish  in  their  hands. 

Like  all  boys  who  live  in  the  country,  Louis  had 
made  collections  of  every  kind,  and  in  the  garden  near 
the  house  he  kept  constantly  increasing  families  of 
rabbits,  field-mice,  guinea-pigs,  and  birds.  These 
were  not  merely  pets  which  he  loved  and  cared  for; 
even  in  his  youthful  eyes  they  seemed  to  have  a  deeper 


40  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

significance,  for  he  studied  them  and  observed  their 
habits  in  a  way  that  gave  him  a  basis  for  the  scientific 
observations  of  his  later  life. 

It  was  natural  that  such  a  boy  should  be  fearless, 
and  in  this  respect  Louis  was  far  above  the  average. 
Strong,  alert,  and  resourceful,  he  was  a  splendid 
swimmer  and  a  strong  skater.  Many  are  the  tales  of 
boyish  fearlessness  that  are  told  about  him,  tales  of 
boating  exploits,  of  long  excursions,  and  particularly 
of  how  once  he  made  a  bridge  of  his  body  across  a  deep 
fissure  in  the  ice  too  wide  to  jump,  that  his  brother 
Auguste  might  creep  across. 

When  he  was  ten  years  old,  his  active  schooling 
began.  In  the  nearby  town  of  Bienne  was  a  public 
school  for  boys.  The  rules  were  strict  and  the  hours 
long,  for  the  boys  were  required  to  study  for  nine 
hours  every  day.  But  the  father  had  given  Louis  a 
good  grounding  in  the  elements  of  education,  and 
this,  combined  with  his  natural  aptitude,  gave  him  an 
advantage  over  his  fellow  students. 

Vacations,  however,  were  as  welcome  to  Louis  and 
his  brother  as  they  are  to  boys  of  the  present  day;  and 
long  before  dawn  on  the  first  day  of  each  vacation,  the 
two  boys  would  be  up  and  homeward  bound,  swinging 
along  the  twenty  miles  of  country  road  which  lay  be 
tween  Bienne  and  Motier.  These  were  happy  days, 
for  although  the  Agassiz  family  had  but  the  very 
small  income  which  the  office  of  a  country  minister  af 
forded,  there  was  a  wealth  of  good  fun  and  love  and 
wholesome  out-of-door  happiness  in  the  lives  of  the 
young  people  who  made  merry  in  the  little  town. 


LOUIS  AGASSIZ  41 

Four  years  were  spent  at  the  school  at  Bienne,  and 
as  the  end  of  the  fourth  year  neared,  Louis,  although 
only  fourteen  years  old,  announced  to  his  parents  his 
desire  to  become  an  author.  "  I  wish  to  advance  in  the 
sciences,"  he  wrote  his  father.  "  I  have  resolved  to  be 
come  a  man  of  letters."  And  then  he  expressed  his 
hope  that  he  might  be  permitted,  after  spending  a 
year  and  a  half  in  commerce  at  Neuchatel,  to  pass 
four  years  at  a  university  in  Germany,  and  finally  fin 
ish  his  studies  at  Paris.  "Then,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
five,"  he  concluded,  "  I  could  begin  to  write."  Mature 
ambitions  these,  for  a  boy  of  fourteen  years ! 

It  was  fortunate  that  the  elder  Agassiz  recognized 
in  the  boy  those  qualities  which  were  uppermost,  and 
encouraged  his  studious  desires.  The  year  and  a  half 
of  business  training  was  abandoned,  and  in  its  place 
Louis  was  sent  for  two  years  of  additional  study  at  the 
College  of  Lausanne.  Already  he  had  felt  the  charm 
of  study,  and  his  boyish  pastimes  had  now  become 
studious  investigations  which  absorbed  his  interest 
and  energy.  His  work  was  as  orderly  as  his  mind;  his 
notebooks,  written  with  remarkable  neatness  in  a 
small  fine  handwriting,  are  excellent  examples  of  clear 
classification  of  whatever  branch  of  study  he  under 
took.  Everything  was  arranged  and  classified;  sub 
jects  were  clearly  separated  and  subdivided  under 
marked  headings;  nothing  was  begun  that  was  not 
completed  in  every  detail. 

At  Lausanne,  Agassiz  had  access  to  the  first  natural 
history  collection  that  he  had  ever  seen;  and  there 
also  he  found  friends  who  sympathized  with  his  favor- 


42  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

ite  tastes.  While  he  was  at  Lausanne,  it  was  decided 
that  he  should  study  medicine,  a  profession  which 
would  meet  his  natural  inclinations  and  at  the  same 
time  ultimately  yield  him  the  income  necessary  for 
his  support. 

Accordingly,  during  his  seventeenth  year,  Louis 
entered  the  medical  school  at  Zurich.  Here  he  found 
still  more  congenial  surroundings ;  for  among  the  fac 
ulty  of  the  university  were  men  of  reputation  in  the 
particular  branches  of  natural  history  which  most 
deeply  interested  him.  Under  the  professor  of  nat 
ural  history  the  study  of  ornithology  was  opened  to 
him.  Here  also  the  sciences  of  zoology  and  geology 
were  taught,  and  Louis  eagerly  enrolled  in  the  classes 
that  were  held  in  these  subjects. 

In  1826,  after  two  years  at  Zurich,  Louis  entered 
the  great  German  University  of  Heidelberg,  and  there 
his  true  university  life  began.  The  four  years  that  he 
passed  there  were  among  the  most  important  years  of 
his  entire  life.  They  were  years  of  hard  conscientious 
study,  combined  with  wholesome  recreation.  "  First  at 
work,  and  first  at  play,"  was  his  motto.  Here  he  made 
friendships  that  were  tense  and  enduring.  Two  fellow 
students,  Braun  and  Schimper,  became  particularly 
his  intimates,  and  with  Agassiz  formed  a  trio  which 
their  fellow  students  called  "the  Little  Academy." 

It  was  an  ambitious  atmosphere,  and  the  friend 
ships  which  were  formed  were  based  on  a  love  of  in 
tellectual  pleasures.  There  was  also  the  vivid  vital 
student  life  beyond  the  classrooms;  there  were  long 
excursions  on  foot  in  vacation  times ;  there  were  duels 


LOUIS  AGASSIZ  43 

and  love-affairs,  and  there  were  boisterous  evenings 
thick  with  tobacco  smoke.  Agassiz  was  a  powerful 
gymnast  and  an  expert  fencer.  There  was  nothing  in 
the  student  life  that  was  good  in  which  he  did  not 
participate. 

Of  the  many  friendships  which  his  open  and  affec 
tionate  nature  so  easily  formed,  his  friendship  with 
Alexander  Braun  was  deepest  and  most  lasting.  Soon 
he  began  to  visit  Braun  at  his  home  in  Carlsruhe, 
where  he  met  his  friend's  two  talented  sisters,  one  of 
whom  was  later  to  become  his  wife.  And  it  was  here, 
in  the  spring  of  1827,  that  the  friendly  Braun  family 
nursed  him  back  to  health  after  a  serious  attack  of 
typhoid  fever. 

The  earnestness  of  these  young  men  is  perhaps  best 
described  by  Agassiz  himself.  "  When  our  lectures  are 
over,  we  meet  in  the  evening  at  Braun's  room  or  mine, 
with  three  or  four  intimate  acquaintances,  and  talk  of 
scientific  matters,  each  one  in  his  turn  presenting  a 
subject  which  is  first  developed  by  him  and  then  dis 
cussed  by  all.  These  exercises  are  very  instructive. 
As  my  share,  I  have  begun  to  give  a  course  of  natural 
history,  or  rather  of  pure  zoology.  Braun  talks  to  us 
of  botany;  and  another  of  our  company,  Mahir, 
teaches  us  mathematics  and  physics  in  his  turn; 
Schimper  will  be  our  professor  of  philosophy.  Thus 
we  shall  form  a  little  university,  instructing  one  an 
other,  and  at  the  same  time  learning  what  we  teach 
more  thoroughly,  because  we  shall  be  obliged  to  dem 


onstrate  it." 


From  Heidelberg  the  three  companions  now  trans- 


44  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

ferred  their  studies  to  the  new  University  of  Munich, 
where  a  far  more  stimulating  intellectual  life  awaited 
them.  Here  were  some  of  the  most  celebrated  teach 
ers  of  the  day,  and  "  the  city  teemed  with  resources  for 
the  student  in  arts,  letters,  philosophy,  and  science." 
A  fine  spirit  existed  between  students  and  professors, 
and  there  was  constant  opportunity,  not  only  in  the 
classrooms,  but  beyond  their  walls,  for  the  earnest 
young  men  to  draw  on  the  wells  of  information  which 
their  brilliant  instructors  freely  afforded  them. 

With  an  allowance  of  only  $250  a  year,  Agassiz's 
life  was  necessarily  simple  and  severe.  But  the  three 
companions  soon  found  that  their  humble  rooms 
had  become  the  meeting-place  of  the  most  brilliant 
men  in  the  University.  Students  and  even  professors 
crowded  their  simple  living  quarters,  and  naturalists 
of  renown  came  to  visit  these  extraordinary  young 
men.  "  Someone  was  always  coming  or  going;  the  half- 
dozen  chairs  were  covered  with  books,  piled  one  upon 
another  —  the  bed,  also,  was  used  as  a  seat,  and  as  a 
receptacle  for  specimens,  drawings  and  papers."  Spec 
imens  of  various  sorts  decorated  the  walls.  In  Agas- 
siz'sown  room  were  several  hundred  fish,  "shut  up  in 
a  wooden  tub  with  a  cover  and  in  various  big  glass 
jars.  A  live  gudgeon  with  beautiful  stripes  is  wrig 
gling  in  his  wash-bowl,  and  he  has  adorned  his  table 
with  monkeys." 

During  their  vacations  the  young  men  made  expe 
ditions  to  see  such  museums  as  were  within  reach, 
and  to  visit  any  scientific  men  to  whom  they  could  ob 
tain  an  introduction.  All  of  southern  Germany  was 


LOUIS  AGASSIZ  45 

included  in  their  rambles,  and  their  wanderings  car 
ried  them  even  into  explorations  of  extensive  tracts  of 
the  Alps. 

But  although  Agassiz  had  come  to  Munich  for  the 
special  purpose  of  taking  the  degree  of  doctor  of  medi 
cine,  his  studies  soon  drifted  from  those  of  a  medical 
student  to  the  studies  of  a  true  naturalist.  He  had 
gone  to  Heidelberg  "with  a  strong  taste  for  natural 
history;  he  left  Munich  devoted  heart  and  soul  to 
science."  Under  these  circumstances  it  was  only  nat 
ural  that  his  first  degree  should  be  that  of  doctor  of 
philosophy;  but  a  year  later,  to  fulfill  the  desires  of 
his  parents,  he  received  the  degree  of  doctor  of  medi 
cine  and  surgery. 

Up  to  this  time  Agassiz  had  paid  no  particular  at 
tention  to  the  study  of  ichthyology,  which  was  later 
to  become  the  great  occupation  of  his  life;  but  in  1829 
he  was  unexpectedly  given  the  opportunity  to  pre 
pare  a  history  of  the  fresh-water  fishes  of  Brazil,  from 
a  collection  which  had  been  made  by  a  celebrated 
scientist  who  had  died  before  he  could  prepare  the  re 
port  covering  the  collection.  Agassiz  threw  himself 
enthusiastically  into  the  work  of  describing  and  figur 
ing  these  Brazilian  fishes,  and  in  1829  the  work  was 
completed  and  published  with  the  name  of  the  youth 
ful  author  on  the  title-page.  His  life-work  was  begun. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  he  wrote  to  his  father:  "I 
wish  it  may  be  said  of  Louis  Agassiz  that  he  was  the 
first  naturalist  of  his  time,  a  good  citizen,  and  a  good 
son,  beloved  by  those  who  know  him." 

In  the  autumn  of  1830  Agassiz  left  Munich,  and 


46  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

after  a  short  visit  in  Vienna,  where  he  found  himself 
"received  as  a  scientific  man  for  whom  no  letters  of 
recommendation  were  necessary,"  he  returned  to 
Switzerland  and  the  welcome  of  his  proud  parents. 
But  it  was  hard  to  adjust  himself  to  the  quiet  village 
by  Lake  Morat,  and,  although  money  was  difficult  to 
secure,  a  visit  to  Paris  was  finally  made  possible 
through  the  generosity  of  a  friend  of  the  family.  Here 
Agassiz  formed  important  friendships  with  two  of 
the  greatest  scientists  of  the  age:  Cuvier,  the  lead 
ing  French  zoologist,  and  Alexander  von  Humboldt, 
the  leader  of  the  scientific  world. 

The  years  that  immediately  followed  were  filled 
with  scientific  progress.  The  "  Brazilian  Fishes"  had 
determined  Agassiz's  specialty,  and  the  reputation  of 
the  book  led  him  to  plan  a  history  of  the  fresh-water 
fishes  of  Central  Europe,  including  a  natural  history 
of  fossil  fishes.  It  was  an  enormous  undertaking,  for 
palaeontology  was  a  new  science,  involving  the  study 
of  fossil  specimens  scattered  through  the  museums  of 
Europe.  But  Agassiz  foresaw  only  the  value  which 
science  would  place  on  such  a  work,  and  the  five  vol 
umes  were  finally  published  by  him,  at  intervals,  from 
1833  to  1843. 

Life  in  Paris  soon  proved  difficult  for  the  young 
scientist,  and  his  poverty  was  particularly  noticeable, 
for  here  there  was  wealth  and  position  even  among 
scientific  men.  He  had  only  forty  dollars  a  month, 
and  his  clothing  had  become  so  worn  that  it  was  not 
possible  for  him  to  accept  invitations  from  well-to-do 
friends.  The  position  of  professor  of  natural  history 


LOUIS  AGASSIZ  47 

at  Neuch&tel  was  offered  him,  and,  although  the  sal 
ary  was  only  $400  a  year,  it  seemed  wise  to  ac 
cept.  His  acceptance,  and  with  it  the  close  of  his  year 
in  Paris,  marks  the  end  of  his  boyhood  and  student 
days.  A  new  period  awaited  him. 

The  college  of  Neuchatel  was  small  and  unimport 
ant.  The  chair  of  natural  history  was  new,  and  there 
was  no  scientific  apparatus,  museum,  or  lecture- 
room.  But  this  mattered  little  to  the  young  professor. 
Soon  after  his  arrival  he  founded  a  Natural  History 
Society  among  the  leading  citizens  of  the  town;  his 
lectures  were  given  in  the  city  hall,  and  his  own  col 
lection  formed  the  nucleus  of  a  natural  history 
museum. 

As  in  college,  so  in  the  quiet  Swiss  village,  Agassiz 
soon  gathered  about  him  a  group  of  scientific  men  as 
his  students  and  assistants,  many  of  whom  in  later 
life  became  themselves  naturalists  of  reputation.  It 
was  a  "scientific  factory"  of  which  Agassiz  was  the 
mainspring.  He  was  poor,  but  somehow  he  managed 
to  go  on,  supporting  many  of  his  staff  in  his  own 
house,  printing  and  lithographing  his  own  publica 
tions,  and  supporting  his  own  family  as  well,  for  his 
marriage  had  now  brought  additional  responsibilities 
upon  his  broad  shoulders.  It  was  an  unstable  basis, 
but  in  one  way  or  another  Agassiz  found  the  means  to 
proceed.  Money  was  but  the  means  to  an  end,  never 
the  end  itself.  "I  cannot  spend  my  time  in  making 
money!"  he  once  said  when  a  profitable  business  offer 
was  made  to  him.  The  remark  expressed  clearly  his 
firm  devotion  to  his  chosen  profession. 


48  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

It  was  during  this  period  of  his  life  that  Agassiz 
added  to  scientific  knowledge  the  proof  that  at  some 
remote  time  in  the  earth's  existence  vast  glaciers, 
moving  fields  of  ice  miles  in  area  and  often  hundreds 
of  feet  in  thickness,  had  played  a  part  in  the  earth's 
formation  almost  as  important  as  the  recognized 
agents,  fire  and  water.  It  was  a  geological  discovery 
the  proof  of  which,  although  indisputable,  seemed  so 
startling,  that  it  was  with  difficulty  that  it  was  ac 
cepted  even  by  the  best  scientific  minds  of  the  day. 

In  the  Alpine  country  had  been  found  great  bould 
ers  dropped  apparently  by  some  strange  force  in  fields 
far  from  the  quarries  of  native  rock  from  which  they 
had  been  torn.  Here  also  were  moraines  and  dikes, 
great  piles  of  loose  gravel  deposited  by  some  unknown 
agency;  and  here  also,  where  the  bedrock  was  visible, 
could  be  seen  deep  furrows  and  scratches  on  the  pol 
ished  stone  as  if  chiseled  by  a  giant  tool. 

Glaciers  existed  in  the  Alps,  but  it  was  hard  for 
men  to  believe  that  glaciers  had  once  existed  where 
now  were  green  fields  and  meadows.  But  Agassiz  was 
not  the  man  to  endeavor  to  found  a  belief  on  unsup 
ported  theory,  and  only  after  six  years  of  study  of  the 
glaciers  and  glacial  traces  in  the  Alps  and  actual  ob 
servations  on  the  glacier  of  the  Aar,  was  he  prepared 
to  give  his  proofs  of  the  theory  to  the  scientific  world. 

Basing  his  demonstration  on  this  accumulated  evi 
dence,  Agassiz  proved  that  at  one  time  glaciers  had 
covered  a  large  part  of  the  now  civilized  world.  The 
great  boulders  had  been  scooped  up  by  them  in  their 
progress,  and  perhaps  some  thousands  of  years  later 


LOUIS  AGASSIZ  49 

had  been  dropped  a  hundred  miles  away  by  the  melt 
ing  ice-sheet.  So  also  had  the  masses  of  gravel  been 
carried  far  from  their  sources,  to  form  strange  new 
glacial  deposits.  And  on  the  scarred  and  grooved 
rocks  was  the  final  evidence;  for  these  deep  scratches 
had  surely  been  ground  by  the  advancing  glacier  as  it 
slowly  and  silently  moved  onward.  "The  idea  that 
such  phenomena  were  not  restricted  to  regions  where 
glaciers  now  are  found,  but  that  traces  of  glacial  ac 
tion  could  be  seen  over  enormous  tracts  of  the  earth's 
surface,  perhaps  including  regions  in  the  tropics,  and 
that  in  countries  now  temperate  there  might  be  dis 
covered,  not  only  the  remains  of  tropical  fauna  and 
flora,  but  also  distinct  indications  of  a  period  of  arctic 
cold  —  this  was  as  new  as  startling." 

During  the  years  of  his  professorship  at  Neuch&tel, 
Agassiz  published  many  important  contributions  to 
scientific  knowledge  in  those  particular  departments 
of  natural  science  to  which  he  had  devoted  himself. 
At  the  same  time  came  also  many  honors,  including 
offers  of  professorships  from  the  universities  of  Ge 
neva  and  Lausanne,  and  the  award  of  the  Wollaston 
Medal  by  the  Geographical  Society  of  London. 

But  the  second  period  in  Agassiz's  life  was  drawing 
to  a  close:  a  great  country  beyond  the  Atlantic 
would  soon  be  ready  to  receive  him.  Agassiz,  the 
student  and  now  the  discoverer,  was  about  to  begin 
his  final  great  activity  as  the  pioneer  and  teacher 
of  natural  history  to  a  strange  people  in  a  foreign 
land.  Each  year  at  Neuchltel  had  plunged  Agassiz 
deeper  and  deeper  into  debt;  his  situation  had  passed 


SO  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

from  bad  to  well-nigh  hopeless.  Then,  unexpectedly, 
help  was  offered.  The  King  of  Prussia  offered  him 
three  thousand  dollars,  to  be  spent  in  travel  for  scien 
tific  purposes;  and  at  the  same  time  came  an  invita 
tion  from  the  Lowell  Institute  of  Boston  to  visit  the 
United  States.  Agassiz  could  not  refuse.  It  was  a  so 
lution  of  all  his  immediate  difficulties;  a  wide  horizon 
in  the  eager  young  republic  spread  before  him.  In 
September,  1846,  Agassiz  sailed  for  Boston. 

He  had  left  behind  him  all  that  is  wealth  to  a  scien 
tific  man.  Books  and  collections  were  the  tools  of  his 
trade;  in  his  fellow  naturalists  he  had  found  help  and 
inspiration.  In  the  United  States  bountiful  nature 
had  provided  a  fertile  and  unexplored  field,  but  here 
he  must  work  alone.  "He  came,  perhaps,  in  a  spirit 
of  adventure  and  of  curiosity;  but  he  stayed  because 
he  loved  a  country  where  new  things  could  be  built 
up;  where  he  could  think  and  speak  as  he  pleased;  and 
where  his  ceaseless  activity  would  be  considered  of 
high  quality." 

On  his  arrival  in  Boston  Agassiz  was  cordially  re 
ceived  by  John  A.  Lowell,  who,  as  trustee  of  the  Low 
ell  Institute,  had  extended  to  him  the  invitation  which 
was  in  a  large  measure  responsible  for  his  coming. 
The  course  of  lectures  which  Agassiz  had  planned  for 
the  Lowell  Institute  was  entitled  "The  Plan  of  Crea 
tion."  His  success  was  immediate.  The  people  were 
eager  to  hear  the  message  of  the  great  lecturer.  A 
second  course,  on  "Glaciers,"  was  soon  arranged,  and 
in  a  few  months  Agassiz  found  himself  the  most  pop 
ular  lecturer  in  all  the  great  Eastern  cities. 


LOUIS  AGASSIZ  51 

The  subjects  which  he  chose  were  always  of  a  char 
acter  which  made  it  possible  for  large  untrained  audi 
ences  to  follow  him  and  clearly  understand  the  points 
which  he  logically  developed.  His  command  of  Eng 
lish  was  at  first  faulty,  but  he  was  never  embarrassed, 
and  his  audiences  found  a  peculiar  charm  in  his 
foreign  accent  and  the  unusual  phrases  which  he  so 
frequently  employed.  But  the  blackboard  was  his 
unfailing  assistant,  and  as  he  talked,  his  quick  hand 
illustrated  the  subject  with  sketches  so  simple  and  so 
clear  that  the  lecture  could  almost  have  been  compre 
hended  by  these  alone. 

He  had  left  his  collections  behind  him,  but  almost 
immediately  new  collections  began  to  grow,  and  a  new 
"scientific  factory"  was  established  in  his  house  in 
East  Boston.  He  always  spoke  of  his  specimens  as 
"material  for  investigation,"  for  to  Agassiz  every 
stone  and  every  insect  held  a  story  filled  with  wonder 
and  romance  which  only  patient  study  could  unfold. 
His  house,  his  garden,  and  even  his  pockets  were  filled 
with  "material";  as  an  illustration  may  be  mentioned 
the  occasion  when  Agassiz,  on  being  asked  by  a  lady 
sitting  beside  him  at  a  dinner-party  to  explain  the 
diiference  between  a  toad  and  a  frog,  instantly  pro 
duced,  to  the  amazement  of  his  companions,  a  live 
frog  and  a  live  toad  from  his  pockets. 

It  was  but  natural  that  Agassiz  should  find  in  Har 
vard  University,  the  oldest  and  most  celebrated  seat 
of  learning  in  the  United  States,  the  congenial  atmos 
phere  which  his  work  required.  And  it  is  equally  nat 
ural  that  the  great  University  should  recognize  in 


52  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

Agassiz  a  master-teacher  who  would  prove  a  most  de 
sirable  addition  to  its  faculty.  Agassiz  had  already 
found  in  the  United  States  a  cordial  welcome  and  a 
deep  appreciation.  The  year  1848  marks  definitely 
the  beginning  of  the  last  phase  of  his  life,  for  in  this 
year  the  death  of  his  wife  in  Carlsruhe  and  his  accept 
ance  of  the  chair  of  zoology  and  geology  at  Harvard 
led  him  to  abandon  forever  his  thought  of  some  day 
returning  to  his  native  land. 

Two  years  later  his  marriage  to  Elizabeth  Cabot 
Gary  of  Boston  bound  him  still  closer  to  the  land  of 
his  adoption,  and  the  remaining  years  of  his  life  were 
years  of  consistent  activity  filled  with  growth  and 
honor.  An  expedition  to  Lake  Superior  in  1848  was 
followed  by  a  trip  to  study  the  Florida  reefs  in  1850 
and  a  visit  to  the  Mississippi  River  in  1853.  During 
these  years  his  collections  were  rapidly  increased,  and 
already  he  was  planning  for  the  establishment  at 
Harvard  of  a  great  Museum  of  Natural  History. 

Life  in  Boston  and  in  the  clear  atmosphere  of  the 
University  must  have  been  highly  stimulating  to  a 
man  of  Agassiz's  sensitive  susceptibilities.  Emerson, 
Holmes,  Hawthorne,  Motley,  and  Longfellow  were 
his  companions,  and  a  group  of  brilliant  younger 
minds  surrounded  him  in  his  work. 

From  abroad  now  came  honors  the  larger  part  of 
which  Agassiz  saw  fit  to  decline.  In  1852  the  Prix 
Cuvier  was  awarded  to  him  in  recognition  of  his  work 
on  fossil  fishes.  A  call  to  the  University  of  Zurich  was 
declined  in  1854;  and  during  the  four  years  between 
1857  and  1861  he  three  times  declined  a  call  to  the 


LOUIS  AGASSIZ  53 

chair  of  palaeontology  at  Paris,  perhaps  the  highest 
scientific  honor  which  the  world  could  afford.  But 
neither  honors  nor  wealth  could  tempt  him.  His  af 
fection  for  America  and  his  love  for  his  work  in  that 
appreciative  country  held  him  fast.  In  1861  he  be 
came  a  naturalized  citizen  of  the  United  States. 

Rarely,  if  ever,  was  there  a  man  of  more  lovable  and 
winning  personality.  "Everybody  sought  his  society, 
and  no  one  could  stand  before  his  words  and  his 
smile.  The  fishermen  at  Nahant  would  pull  two  or 
three  miles  to  get  him  a  rare  fish."  Rich  and  poor,  the 
educated  and  the  uneducated,  all  paid  homage  to  his 
magnetic  personality.  Physically  large,  his  genial 
countenance  and  smiling  eyes  made  friends  with 
everyone.  And  at  the  same  time  those  laughing  brown 
eyes,  that  seemed  made  only  for  pleasure  and  jollity, 
"saw  more  than  did  all  our  eyes  put  together;  for  he 
looked,  but  we  only  stared." 

The  cornerstone  of  the  great  Museum  of  Compara 
tive  Zoology  at  Harvard  was  laid  in  1859,  and  in  the 
years  that  have  followed,  the  collection  has  grown  to 
proportions  which  make  it  a  worthy  memorial  to  its 
celebrated  founder.  Into  this  edifice  Agassiz  freely 
poured  the  material  which  he  had  collected  on  his 
many  expeditions,  including  a  wealth  of  specimens 
gathered  in  1865  and  1866,  on  an  expedition  to  Brazil; 
and  in  1871  and  1872,  in  a  specially  designed  ship,  the 
Hassler,  he  rounded  the  Horn,  and  with  dredging  ap 
paratus  collected  along  both  coasts  of  the  South 
American  continent  valuable  data  concerning  the 
fauna  and  physical  conditions  which  were  found  at 


54  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

great  depths.  Meanwhile,  although  constantly  ne 
glectful  of  his  own  income,  he  devoted  his  rare  per 
sonal  persuasion  to  the  cause  of  obtaining  the  large 
sum  necessary  for  the  building  and  maintenance  of 
the  Museum.  And  it  is  to  him  alone  that  credit  is 
due  for  the  money  that  was  thus  raised,  at  a  cost  to 
science  of  priceless  hours  of  his  own  all-too-limited 
time  and  energy. 

The  intellect  of  Agassiz  was  gigantic,  and  yet  he 
combined  with  his  mighty  forces  an  unfailing  patience 
with  dull  or  ignorant  people.  His  craving  for  know 
ledge  was  equaled  only  by  his  ability  in  imparting  it  to 
others.  Nothing  that  he  achieved  was  for  himself:  his 
all  was  attained  that  he  might  give  it  to  the  world. 
"Good  teachers  are  not  commonly  original  investiga 
tors;  and  original  investigators  often  lack  both  the 
will  and  power  to  tell  other  people  what  they  know." 
To  this  Agassiz  was  perhaps  the  greatest  exception 
that  the  world  has  ever  seen.  The  scientific  world  will 
ever  remember  Louis  Agassiz  for  his  discoveries  in 
zoology,  for  his  vast  researches  in  the  study  of  fishes, 
and  for  his  glacial  theories  and  subsequent  revela 
tions  in  geology;  but  the  world  at  large  will  hold  him 
perhaps  more  dear  as  the  master  who  brought  to  the 
United  States  the  old  sciences  of  an  older  civilization 
and,  infusing  them  with  his  own  vitality,  became  to 
the  people  of  America  the  first  and  the  great  teacher 
of  the  history  of  the  mighty  book  of  nature,  which  be 
fore  his  time  had  remained  closed  to  them. 

On  December  14,  1873,  Louis  Agassiz  died  at  Cam 
bridge,  in  the  shadow  of  the  walls  of  the  great  Univer- 


LOUIS  AGASSIZ  55 

sity  of  which  he  had  become  so  loyal  a  member. 
Above  his  grave  a  simple  granite  boulder  from  the 
glacier  of  the  Aar,  sent  by  loving  friends  in  the  land  of 
his  birth,  gives  in  its  brief  inscription  the  name  of  a 
man  whom  the  United  States  proudly  claims  as  citi 
zen,  and  whom  the  world  honors  as  a  man. 


IV 
CARL  SCHURZ 

Born  in  Liblar,  Germany,  1829 
Died  in  New  York  City,  1906 

THERE  are  few  Americans  who  can  say  that  they 
were  born  in  a  castle,  for  the  castle-born  children  of 
Europe  of  whom  history  tells  us  have  been  the  chil 
dren  of  royalty  who  have  by  virtue  of  their  birth 
inherited  the  privileges  of  a  ruling  clan  and  have  ever 
handed  down  these  same  privileges  to  succeeding 
generations.  Europe  was  for  centuries  ruled  by  the 
castle-born.  Supreme  was  the  tradition  of  royalty. 
And  strange  in  contrast  is  the  story  of  a  baby  of 
humble  parentage  who  by  chance  first  saw  the  light 
through  the  high  windows  of  a  castle  wall,  and  lived 
to  become  an  honored  citizen  of  a  land  where  royalty 
is  unknown  and  all  men  are  equal. 

In  the  great  republic  of  the  United  States,  men 
who  had  become  wearied  of  the  old  order  of  things 
had  built  a  nation  on  another  plan.  Here  there  was  no 
royalty;  it  was  not  where  or  how  a  boy  was  born  that 
counted,  but  what  kind  of  a  man  he  became.  To  all, 
equal  opportunities  were  offered.  It  was  not  who  you 
were,  but  what  you  were,  that  counted;  and  that  is 
what  counts  to-day  in  the  United  States. 

The  first  President,  George  Washington,  was  a 
farmer.  Abraham  Lincoln  was  born  in  a  log-cabin 


CARL  SCHURZ  57 

and  taught  himself  to  read  and  write  in  the  early  days 
of  his  hard  boyhood.  Woodrow  Wilson  was  a  school 
teacher.  Rich  men  and  poor  men  have  risen  to  the 
presidency;  men  with  the  blood  of  many  nations  in 
their  veins.  The  log-cabin  or  the  castle  birthplace  has 
counted  little;  high  posts  of  honor  have  been  won 
by  all. 

Carl  Schurz  was  born  in  a  castle  at  Liblar,  a  small 
German  town  a  few  miles  distant  from  the  great  city 
of  Cologne,  in  the  year  1829.  But  in  spite  of  his  castle 
birthplace,  Carl  was  not  of  royal  blood,  but  a  poor 
boy.  Like  the  fathers  of  so  many  other  distinguished 
sons,  the  elder  Schurz  was  a  schoolmaster;  but  so 
small  was  his  pay  that  he  and  his  family  came  to  live 
with  his  wife's  father,  a  tenant  farmer,  in  the  ancient 
castle  at  Liblar.  And  in  this  castle  was  born  the  boy 
Carl  who,  in  the  many  years  of  his  useful  life,  was 
destined  to  fill  high  places  in  the  great  Republic  be 
yond  the  seas. 

Life  in  the  great  castle  was  much  the  same  in  1829 
that  it  had  been  for  hundreds  of  years,  for  changes 
came  slowly  in  the  peaceful,  beautiful  German  coun 
try.  At  harvest-time  the  young  and  old,  with  a  spirit 
of  mutual  helpfulness,  gathered  the  harvest;  and  at 
other  times  they  met  for  Rhineland  festivals,  with 
much  happy  visiting  of  relatives,  with  games  and  con 
tests  of  strength  and  skill.  In  the  big  stone  hall  of  the 
castle  the  "folk"  assembled  for  their  meals  at  long 
wooden  tables,  and  ate  their  soup  or  porridge  out  of 
deep  wooden  bowls  with  wooden  spoons.  During  the 
day  the  women  spun  flax  at  their  spinning-wheels  and 


S8  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

the  men  worked  in  the  shops,  the  stables,  and  the 
fields. 

In  the  twilight  hours  the  boy  listened  to  stories  of 
the  "French  Times,"  when  the  great  Napoleon  passed 
through  the  land  with  his  mighty  army  before  the 
Russian  campaign,  and  later  returned,  his  army  shat 
tered  and  defeated.  He  heard  of  the  Cossacks,  un 
couth,  dirty,  bearded  men  on  shaggy  ponies,  who  fol 
lowed  Napoleon's  retreating  army,  and  how  they  stole 
and  plundered  and  ate  the  tallow  candles  in  people's 
houses.  And  he  heard,  too,  of  the  great  men  whose 
fame  was  not  created  by  the  sword  —  Schiller,  Goethe 
Tasso,  Shakespeare,  Voltaire,  Rousseau.  Perhaps  the 
stories  of  these  famous  men  of  history  inspired  the  boy 
in  later  years  to  become  himself  a  leader  among  men. 

When  he  was  still  very  young,  Carl  was  sent  to 
school;  and  twice  a  week  he  walked,  each  way,  to  a 
town  four  miles  distant,  to  study  music.  It  was  dur 
ing  these  early  days  that  Carl  first  heard  his  family 
talk  about  the  United  States,  "that  young  Republic 
where  the  people  were  free,  without  kings,  without 
counts";  and  it  is  probable  that  the  impressions  of 
this  republican  state  of  free  citizens  received  in  his 
early  years  had  something  to  do  with  the  directing  of 
his  ambitions  in  later  life. 

When  Carl  was  nine  years  old  his  father,  believing 
that  the  boy  had  outgrown  the  little  school  at  Liblar, 
sent  him  to  a  school  at  Briihl,  where  he  continued  his 
various  lessons  and  the  study  of  music.  The  next  year 
Carl  was  taken  by  his  father  to  Cologne  and  entered 
the  "gymnasium,"  a  school  which  bears  some  re- 


CARL  SCHURZ  59 

semblance  to  the  high  school  in  the  United  States. 
Here  he  studied  history,  Latin,  and  German,  and 
particularly  the  art  of  expressing  himself  in  writing 
with  clearness  and  ease  —  a  study  which  perhaps 
contributed  most  to  his  success  in  coming  years. 

But  now  a  new  influence  began  to  enter  the  life  of 
the  boy.  During  the  first  fifty  years  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  that  part  of  Germany  which  extends  along 
the  banks  of  the  Rhine  had  seen  three  governments. 
First,  it  had  been  ruled  by  the  Archbishop  Electors; 
then  it  was  conquered  by  the  French  and  had  felt 
French  rule  both  under  the  French  Republic  and  the 
Empire;  and  last  of  all,  it  had  been  taken  from  the 
French  and  annexed  by  Prussia.  The  Rhenish  people 
perhaps  liked  the  Prussian  rule  least  of  all;  for  the 
Prussians  governed  well,  but  with  a  stern  discipline 
that  could  never  be  understood  by  the  careless, 
pleasure-loving  people  of  the  Rhine. 

Among  the  younger  people,  and  particularly  those 
of  the  better-educated  class,  among  whom  Carl  found 
himself,  there  was  a  restless  spirit  and  the  feeling  that 
great  changes  were  necessary.  Young  men  believed 
that  the  hard  Prussian  rule  must  be  overthrown  and 
give  place  to  a  new  form  of  constitutional  govern 
ment,  with  free  speech,  free  press,  and  free  political 
institutions.  How  this  was  to  be  done,  no  one  knew; 
but  Carl  and  his  companions  talked  much  with  each 
other  of  their  dreams  of  liberty  and  unity  for  the 
Fatherland,  and  eagerly  read  every  newspaper  and 
pamphlet  that  fell  into  their  hands,  to  keep  them 
selves  informed  of  the  tendencies  of  the  day. 


60  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

It  was  the  ambition  of  the  elder  Schurz  that  his  son, 
after  graduation  from  the  gymnasium,  should  enter 
the  famous  university  at  Bonn.  But  only  a  year  be 
fore  Carl's  graduation  the  father  met  with  financial 
disaster  which  swept  away  the  small  savings  of  years 
and  left  him  practically  penniless.  Carl  was  seven 
teen  years  old  and  was  entering  his  last  year  in  the 
gymnasium;  by  this  disaster  all  his  hopes  and  ambi 
tions  seemed  swept  aside.  His  father,  bankrupt,  was 
in  a  debtor's  prison.  Hurriedly,  Carl  took  leave  of  his 
teachers  and  friends  and  returned  home,  where,  by 
much  hard  effort,  he  succeeded  in  securing  his  father's 
release. 

The  question  now  arose  whether  or  not  he  must 
abandon  his  studies  and  take  up  a  new  course  of  life. 
Next  to  his  family,  his  ambition  for  a  literary  career 
was  the  greatest  factor  in  his  life.  By  leaving  the 
gymnasium  his  hopes  seemed  destroyed  beyond  rem 
edy;  for  the  examinations  for  the  university  were  very 
difficult  and  practically  required  this  final  year  of 
study  and  preparation.  Fortunately,  his  father  in  a 
few  months  became  able  again  to  provide  for  himself, 
and  Carl  immediately  undertook  the  difficult  task  of 
preparing  to  pass  the  graduation  examinations  at 
Cologne,  which  must  be  accomplished  before  he  could 
enter  the  university.  By  hard  work  this  was  finally  ac 
complished,  and  Carl  entered  the  university  at  Bonn. 

German  universities  have  always  been  known  for 
their  student  societies.  Too  many  of  these  groups  of 
students  have  had  a  reputation  only  for  drinking  and 
senseless  dueling;  but  there  are  others  that  have  been 


CARL  SCHURZ  61 

marked  by  a  distinct  scientific,  literary,  or  musical 
tone.  Of  the  latter  class  was  the  Buschenschaft  Fran- 
conia  at  Bonn;  its  members  were  not  men  of  wealth  or 
noble  birth,  but  in  later  years  they  found  high  places 
in  the  world's  history.  And  of  this  society  Carl  Schurz 
was  elected  a  member.  It  was  a  group  of  young  men 
who  were  destined  greatly  to  affect  his  entire  life. 

But  of  even  greater  importance  in  their  effect  on  the 
life  of  Carl  Schurz  were  certain  political  conditions  in 
Germany.  Early  in  the  century,  after  Napoleon's  ill- 
fated  campaign  into  Russia,  the  King  of  Prussia  and 
the  Russian  Tsar  had  called  the  German  people  to 
arms,  promising  them  a  new  national  union,  free  polit 
ical  institutions,  and  the  abolition  of  arbitrary  gov 
ernment.  The  victories  of  Leipzig  and  Waterloo  broke 
the  power  of  Napoleon,  but  the  years  that  followed 
did  not  see  the  promises  of  the  Prussian  King  fulfilled. 
In  1814  the  Congress  of  Vienna  created  an  alliance 
among  the  German  States,  but  the  organization  was 
composed  of  kings  and  princes ;  there  was  no  popular 
representation  and  no  mention  of  civic  rights,  a  pop 
ular  vote,  a  free  press,  freedom  of  assembly,  or  trial  by 
jury  —  all  of  which  were  rights  desired  by  the  people. 

Then  followed  a  bitter  period  of  studied  repression 
of  every  liberal  tendency,  and  the  advance  toward  lib 
eral  institutions  almost  ceased.  In  1840,  Frederick 
William  IV  ascended  the  Prussian  throne.  It  was  at 
first  believed  that  he  sympathized  with  the  liberal  and 
patriotic  hopes  of  the  people;  but  it  soon  became  evi 
dent  that  the  same  policy  would  be  continued;  the 
demands  of  the  people  were  refused,  and  the  press 


62  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

censorship  was  increased.  Discontent  with  general 
conditions,  and  particularly  with  absolute  kingly 
power  and  police  despotism,  soon  became  general, 
and  in  1847  the  King  convoked  a  "United  Diet"  in 
Berlin,  to  consist  of  members  of  all  the  provincial  diets. 
But  only  in  appearance  was  this  a  popular  assembly, 
and  no  reforms  were,  or  could  be,  enacted  by  it. 

Disappointment  and  discontent  followed,  and  from 
the  mass  of  people  revolutionary  agitators  arose,  de 
manding  liberation  from  the  rule  of  a  domineering 
King.  "God,  Liberty,  Fatherland"  was  the  motto  of 
the  people.  Black,  red,  and  gold  were  the  colors  of  the 
revolutionists. 

Schurz  was  at  the  beginning  of  his  university  train 
ing  in  the  year  1848.  It  was  a  year  of  tremendous  im 
port.  In  France  King  Louis  Philippe  had  been  driven 
out  and  the  republic  established.  The  day  seemed  to 
be  dawning  for  the  establishment  of  "German  Unity," 
or,  in  other  words,  a  "constitutional  form  of  govern 
ment  on  a  broad  democratic  basis." 

The  Revolution  soon  took  actual  form.  In  Cologne 
the  people  met  in  the  public  squares  to  formulate  their 
demands.  All  through  South  Germany  the  revolu 
tionary  spirit  flamed  forth.  And  in  Austria  a  similar 
revolution  demanded  liberty  and  citizens'  rights. 

Meanwhile,  great  activity  in  the  university  town  of 
Bonn  burst  forth,  and  Professor  Kinkel,  representing 
the  citizens,  declared  that  the  liberties  and  rights  of 
the  German  people  must  be  granted  by  the  princes  or 
taken  by  force  by  the  people.  In  Berlin,  the  King 
wavered  under  the  flood  of  petitions  which  poured  in 


CARL  SCHURZ  63 

on  him,  and  actual  fighting  between  the  citizens  and 
the  troops,  in  March,  1849,  resulted  in  the  temporary 
acquiescence  of  the  King  in  the  popular  demand.  But 
the  victory  of  the  people  was  not  followed  up  and 
proved  to  be  short-lived. 

Soon,  throughout  Germany,  the  realization  began 
to  spread  that  the  revolution  of  March,  which  had 
seemed  so  glorious,  would  amount  to  little  unless  ac 
tion  was  promptly  taken.  Soon  also  it  became  appar 
ent  that  the  King  would  give  nothing  but  promises, 
and  that  the  people  would  be  no  better  off  than 
before.  Accordingly,  in  Frankfurt,  Eisenach,  Bonn, 
Dresden,  and  other  cities,  the  revolutionists  planned 
to  cast  off  the  yoke  of  the  King,  and  many  bloody 
fights  took  place  between  the  people  and  the  mon 
arch's  Prussian  bayonets. 

In  all  this  Schurz  and  his  friend  Kinkel  played  an 
active  part.  But  the  power  was  on  the  side  of  the 
King,  and  one  by  one  the  small  bands  of  revolutionists 
were  defeated  by  the  trained  Prussian  troops.  Schurz 
had  fought  with  credit  in  several  engagements,  and 
finally,  with  many  other  revolutionists,  had  taken  ref 
uge  in  the  fortress  of  Rastatt,  which  for  three  weeks 
held  out  against  the  Prussian  army  that  besieged  it. 
Finally  the  fortress  was  compelled  to  surrender,  and 
at  great  peril,  Schurz  and  two  companions  escaped 
through  a  sewer  and,  crossing  the  Rhine  by  night, 
sought  refuge  on  French  soil. 

The  Revolution  had  ended  in  disaster  and  Schurz 
was  an  exile  from  his  native  land,  to  which  he  dared 
not  return.  He  had  fought  for  the  cause  of  freedom; 


64  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

he  had  lost  all.  But  his  life  was  saved.  Kinkel  and 
others  of  the  revolutionists,  less  fortunate  than 
Schurz,  were  condemned  to  life-imprisonment. 

But  although  Schurz  was  free,  the  knowledge  that 
Kinkel  was  imprisoned  inspired  in  him  the  resolve  to 
aid  his  friend  in  escaping.  It  was  dangerous  work, 
for  it  was  necessary  for  Schurz  to  return  in  disguise  to 
Germany,  where,  had  he  been  recognized,  he  would 
immediately  have  suffered  Kinkel's  fate.  But  the  loy 
alty  of  Schurz  to  his  friend  was  rewarded  by  the  final 
accomplishment  of  his  plans;  and  after  many  exciting 
adventures  Kinkel  succeeded  in  his  escape  from  prison 
by  lowering  himself  at  night  from  a  window  in  his  cell, 
by  a  rope  which  Schurz  had  smuggled  in  to  him.  And 
a  few  days  later  the  two  men  succeeded  in  reaching 
the  seacoast  and  took  passage  on  a  ship  to  England. 

For  several  years  Kinkel  and  his  family  lived  in 
London,  where  a  large  number  of  political  refugees 
had  gathered.  It  was  a  brilliant  gathering,  and  in 
these  many  people  of  varied  accomplishment  Carl 
Schurz  found  much  to  interest  him.  Here,  too,  it  was 
that  Schurz  found,  in  the  daughter  of  another  Ger 
man  exile,  the  young  woman,  Margaretha  Meyer, 
who  a  few  months  later  became  his  wife. 

The  year  1852  was  covered  by  a  gloomy  cloud. 
Throughout  all  Europe  the  Liberal  movement  seemed 
suppressed.  In  France,  Louis  Napoleon  had  made 
himself  Emperor  and  was  recognized  by  England; 
the  French  Republic  was  gone.  In  Italy,  Mazzini  had 
fought  in  vain  for  a  united  country  under  a  free 
government.  Kossuth  had  fought  for  the  national 


CARL  SCHURZ  65 

independence  of  Hungary,  but  had  gone  into  exile, 
a  defeated  man.  In  Germany,  revolutionists  had  met 
a  similar  fate.  To  Carl  Schurz  there  seemed  but  one 
direction  in  which  he  might  turn.  Far  beyond  the 
Atlantic  the  United  States  of  America  offered  a  re 
publican  government  where  the  people  ruled  them 
selves  by  popular  laws,  free  to  live  their  lives  and 
express  their  thoughts,  free  from  the  yokes  of  kings 
and  princes.  In  August,  1852,  Schurz  and  his  young 
wife  sailed  for  New  York. 

The  first  task  which  Schurz  set  for  himself  on  his 
arrival  was  to  learn  in  the  shortest  possible  time  to 
speak,  read,  and  write  the  English  language.  Chiefly 
by  reading  the  newspapers  this  task  was  soon  accom 
plished,  and  in  a  very  few  years  there  were  not  many 
Americans  who  could  claim  a  more  exact  and  fluent 
command  of  their  own  language  than  he. 

Schurz  had  come  to  the  United  States  a  poor  man 
and  an  exile,  but  he  was  fortunate  in  possessing  a 
number  of  friends  who  lived  in  the  larger  Eastern 
cities,  and  through  them  he  obtained  many  valuable 
introductions  and  rapidly  widened  his  acquaintance 
ship,  particularly  in  political  and  literary  circles. 

Since  the  founding  of  the  Republic  slavery  had  ex 
isted  in  the  United  States.  Particularly  in  the  South 
ern  states  thousands  of  negro  slaves  furnished  practi 
cally  the  only  labor  on  the  vast  plantations  and  in  the 
homes  of  the  owners.  Against  the  slowly  widening  in 
fluence  of  slavery  a  small  band  of  anti-slavery  men 
were  opposing  by  every  means  at  their  command  the 
growth  of  this  condition  so  utterly  opposed  to  the 


66  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

laws  of  freedom  and  civilization.  "I  saw  the  decisive 
contest  rapidly  approaching,"  wrote  Schurz,  "and  I 
felt  an  irresistible  impulse  to  prepare  myself  for  use 
fulness,  however  modest,  in  the  impending  crisis :  and 
to  that  end  I  pursued  with  increased  assiduity  my 
studies  of  the  political  history  and  the  social  workings 
of  the  Republic,  and  of  the  theory  and  practical  work 
ings  of  its  institutions." 

Schurz  had  German  friends  and  relatives  living  in 
Illinois,  Wisconsin,  and  Missouri.  It  seemed  to  him 
that,  by  visiting  them,  he  would  be  enabled  to  see 
more  of  the  country  and  study  at  first-hand  the  actual 
"real  America,"  which  he  must  thoroughly  under 
stand  if  he  was  to  take  a  helpful  part  in  the  impending 
struggle. 

During  the  year  1854,  Schurz  visited  all  of  the  large 
cities  of  the  Middle  West,  and  particularly  the  states 
of  Wisconsin  and  Missouri,  which  were  largely  settled 
by  Germans.  The  West  attracted  him,  and  after  care 
fully  considering  many  places,  he  determined  to  settle 
in  the  pleasant  little  village  of  Watertown,  Wisconsin. 

In  the  years  of  his  residence  in  Watertown,  Schurz 
took  up  the  law  as  his  profession,  and  at  the  same  time 
began  actively  to  participate  in  local  politics.  The 
large  German  population  in  the  Western  states  was 
a  voting  power  that  was  of  great  importance,  and 
Schurz's  high  standing  and  reputation  made  it  only 
natural  that  he  should  soon  be  chosen  as  their  spokes 
man  and  leader. 

These  were  stirring  days.  The  great  question  of 
slavery  was  uppermost.  With  the  entrance  of  new  ter- 


CARL  SCHURZ  67 

ritory  into  the  Union,  the  question  flamed  forth  with 
greater  violence:  would  the  new  states  be  free  states 
or  slave  states  ?  Would  the  slave-holders  or  the  anti- 
slavery  men  rule  the  land  ?  Would  slavery  or  freedom 
dominate? 

Schurz  flung  himself  into  politics  and  the  anti- 
slavery  party  of  the  North.  With  clear  vision  he  real 
ized  that  slavery  must  be  destroyed,  but  that  the 
United  States  must  be  preserved;  a  separation  of  the 
slave  states  from  the  Union  could  not  be  tolerated; 
all  must  be  united  in  freedom. 

Rapidly  the  reputation  of  Carl  Schurz  as  a  political 
speaker  spread  beyond  Wisconsin.  He  was  called  to 
address  meetings  in  neighboring  states,  and  finally  he 
was  summoned  even  to  Boston,  to  address  a  great 
meeting  in  the  historic  Faneuil  Hall.  In  Illinois  he 
met  Abraham  Lincoln,  soon  to  hold  the  office  of  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States;  everywhere  he  encountered 
the  leaders  in  the  great  Republic,  men  of  every  party 
and  every  type  of  character;  the  men  who  were  guid 
ing  the  steps  of  the  nation. 

Throughout  the  campaign  for  the  election  of  Abra 
ham  Lincoln  to  the  presidency,  Carl  Schurz  gave  his 
entire  energy  as  a  speaker  and  organizer,  and  as  a  re 
sult  soon  became  recognized  as  a  person  of  influence  in 
the  victorious  party.  During  these  months  the  friend 
ship  of  Schurz  and  Lincoln  was  strengthened,  and 
other  ties  with  other  men  were  made,  which  were  to 
have  a  strong  influence,  not  only  on  Schurz's  own  life, 
but  on  the  history  of  his  adopted  country. 

On  April  12, 1861,  the  storm  which  had  so  long  been 


68  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

brewing  between  the  Northern  and  Southern  states 
broke  with  the  capture  of  Fort  Sumter,  in  Charleston 
Harbor,  by  the  Confederate  forces.  For  some  time  the 
government  of  the  so-called  Confederate  States  had 
attempted  to  open  negotiations  with  the  Federal  au 
thorities  for  a  peaceful  separation.  But  the  North  had 
stood  firm  in  the  position  that  at  all  costs  the  Union 
must  be  preserved.  With  the  fall  of  Sumter  came  the 
opening  of  the  Civil  War,  which  for  four  long  years 
plunged  the  land  in  blood. 

Three  days  later  President  Lincoln  issued  a  procla 
mation  calling  for  75,000  volunteers;  and  on  June  10 
the  Northern  troops  were  repulsed  at  Big  Bethel,  and 
July  21,  were  routed  at  Bull  Run.  The  long  war  had 
begun.  During  these  first  months  of  the  war  Schurz 
threw  himself  into  the  work  of  organizing  in  New 
York  a  regiment  of  German  cavalry;  but  his  services 
were  considered  of  even  greater  value  in  another  kind 
of  activity,  and  a  few  weeks  later  he  was  on  his  way  to 
Madrid,  as  United  States  Minister  to  Spain. 

There  is  probably  no  other  country  in  the  world 
where  such  a  rapid  and  spectacular  progress  would  be 
possible.  Ten  years  before,  Carl  Schurz  was  an  exile 
from  his  native  land,  a  poor  newcomer  to  a  strange 
country.  Now,  after  this  brief  period,  he  was  to  return 
to  Europe,  the  powerful  representative  of  a  great 
republic. 

Early  in  1862  Schurz  returned  to  the  United  States. 
During  the  months  which  he  had  spent  in  Spain  he 
had  rendered  valuable  service  in  keeping  the  Spanish 
government  informed  of  the  exact  condition  of  affairs 


CARL  SCHURZ  69 

in  the  United  States,  and  impressing  upon  the  Span 
ish  authorities  the  desirability  of  maintaining  friendly 
relations  with  the  North,  and  an  interest  in  the  cause 
of  freedom. 

But  Schurz  was  restless  in  a  position  of  security,  no 
matter  how  great  its  importance,  while  others  were 
risking  their  lives  for  their  country's  cause.  "I  be 
came  convinced,"  he  said,  "that,  in  such  times,  the 
true  place  for  a  young  and  able-bodied  man  was  in  the 
field,  and  not  in  an  easy-chair."  Schurz  laid  his  case 
before  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  the  President  agreed  to  ac 
cept  his  resignation  and  gave  him  a  commission  in  the 
army. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  war  the  Regular  Army  was 
very  small,  its  officers  few.  Of  these  officers  many  had 
gone  over  to  the  army  of  the  Confederate  States. 
There  was  great  need  of  officers  for  the  vast  volun 
teer  armies  which  were  being  formed,  and  it  became 
necessary  to  select  men  from  civil  life,  on  account  of 
their  general  intelligence,  and  give  them  appointments 
as  officers.  Few  of  these  had  any  military  experience  or 
particular  knowledge  of  military  science.  Because  of 
these  conditions,  and  also  because  of  his  brief  military 
experience  in  the  revolutionary  army  of  1849,  Schurz 
was  appointed  a  brigadier-general  for  immediate 
service. 

His  experience  during  the  Civil  War  included  many 
of  the  famous  campaigns  and  battles,  and  in  all  of 
them  he  played  an  active  and  important  part.  Dur 
ing  the  year  1862,  Fort  Henry  and  Fort  Donelson 
were  captured  by  the  Union  forces,  and  on  March  9, 


70  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

the  Monitor,  designed  by  John  Ericsson,  defeated  the 
Confederate  ironclad  Merrimac.  Early  in  April  Gen 
eral  Grant  won  the  victory  of  Shiloh,  and  on  the  24th 
of  the  same  month  Admiral  David  G.  Farragut  ran 
the  forts  below  New  Orleans  with  his  ships,  and  cap 
tured  the  city.  In  the  East  during  this  same  period, 
the  Confederate  army,  under  General  Robert  E.  Lee, 
pressed  forward  toward  the  city  of  Washington,  but 
was  finally  thrown  back  across  the  Potomac  River 
after  the  battle  of  Antietam. 

In  the  following  year,  1863,  the  Confederate  army 
under  General  Lee  again  marched  North,  but  was  de 
feated,  July  1-3,  at  the  great  battle  of  Gettysburg. 
In  this  battle  Schurz  took  part,  and  from  the  crest  of 
Cemetery  Hill  watched  the  Confederate  infantry  of 
General  Pickett  make  their  brave  charge  against  the 
Union  forces.  Fifteen  thousand  strong,  in  a  long  close 
line,  with  bayonets  gleaming  in  the  sunshine  and  flags 
waving  in  the  breeze,  the  gray-clad  soldiers  of  the 
Confederacy  appeared  from  the  dark  shadows  of  the 
woods  and  came  steadily  across  a  mile  of  open  fields. 
Under  a  tremendous  fire  from  the  Union  artillery  the 
gray  line  slowly  melted  as  it  advanced,  leaving  the 
soft  green  of  the  meadow  flecked  with  gray-clad 
bodies  of  dead  and  wounded.  Closing  the  gaps,  they 
came  steadily  on,  now  lost  behind  a  low  rise  of  ground, 
now  again  in  view,  their  flags  still  flying  above  them. 
Then,  within  rifle-range,  a  cloud  of  smoke  lifted  like 
fog  from  the  Union  guns,  and  as  it  floated  off  on  the 
light  wind,  the  Union  soldiers  saw  the  remnant  of 
Pickett's  brave  band  slowly  retreating  from  the  field. 


CARL  SCHURZ  71 

Although  more  than  a  year  of  war  was  to  follow,  the 
strength  of  the  Southern  offensive  was  shattered. 

On  July  4,  Vicksburg  surrendered  to  Grant,  and  in 
November  came  the  victories  of  Lookout  Mountain 
and  Missionary  Ridge.  In  the  following  year  were 
other  victories  in  the  battles  of  the  Wilderness  and 
Spottsylvania.  Another  drive  of  the  Confederates 
against  Washington  was  attempted  by  General  Early, 
but  he  was  defeated  by  General  Sheridan  in  three  bat 
tles  and  was  forced  to  withdraw.  Then  came  the  cap 
ture  of  Atlanta  and  General  Sherman's  famous  march 
through  Georgia  to  the  sea.  On  the  water  were 
achieved  the  victory  of  the  Kearsarge  over  the  Con 
federate  steamer  Alabama,  and  Admiral  Farragut's 
successful  passage  of  the  forts  at  Mobile  Bay.  In 
April  of  the  year  1865  came  the  complete  surrender  of 
the  armies  of  the  Confederacy.  The  Union  was  pre 
served;  slavery  was  destroyed. 

With  the  ending  of  the  war,  Schurz  began  again  to 
take  an  active  part  in  the  political  life  of  the  nation, 
and  for  a  time  devoted  himself  to  a  study  of  the 
perplexing  difficulties  which  surrounded  the  recon 
struction  of  the  South,  impoverished  by  years  of  war 
and  economically  ruined  by  the  emancipation  of  the 
slaves. 

In  the  autumn  of  1867  he  again  visited  Germany. 
The  high  position  which  he  now  held  in  the  great  Re 
public  assured  him  of  a  welcome,  but  the  attentions 
which  were  heaped  upon  him  were  a  particular  tribute 
to  the  man  who  had  once  fled  by  night.  Bismarck, 
"The  Minister"  of  Germany,  honored  him  by  invit- 


72  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

ing  him  to  long  conferences,  in  which  he  eagerly  ques 
tioned  Schurz  concerning  the  great  war  in  which  he 
had  taken  part,  and  asked  many  questions  about  the 
political  and  social  conditions  of  the  Republic  of  which 
Schurz  had  become  a  citizen. 

On  his  return  to  the  United  States,  Schurz  was 
elected  to  the  United  States  Senate,  representing  the 
great  state  of  Missouri,  where  he  had  now  taken  up 
his  residence.  "I  remember  vividly  the  feelings  which 
almost  oppressed  me  when  I  first  sat  down  in  my 
chair  in  the  Senate  Chamber.  Now  I  had  actually 
reached  a  most  exalted  public  position,  to  which  my 
boldest  dreams  of  ambition  had  hardly  dared  to  as 
pire.  I  was  still  a  young  man,  just  forty.  Little  more 
than  sixteen  years  had  elapsed  since  I  had  landed  on 
these  shores  a  homeless  waif,  saved  from  the  wreck  of 
a  revolutionary  movement  in  Europe.  Then  I  was 
enfolded  in  the  generous  hospitality  of  the  American 
people,  opening  to  me,  as  freely  as  to  its  own  children, 
the  great  opportunities  of  the  new  world.  And  here  I 
was  now,  a  member  of  the  highest  law-making  body  of 
the  greatest  of  republics." 

But  a  still  greater  honor  was  to  come.  With  the 
election  of  President  Hayes  in  1877,  Schurz  became 
the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  of  the  United  States.  In 
this  high  position  his  ability  found  ample  room  for 
exercise,  and  the  reforms  which  he  in  large  measure 
effected,'  both  in  the  civil-service  system  of  appoint 
ment —  by  which  men  were  placed  in  government 
positions  as  a  result  of  examination  on  their  merits,  as 
opposed  to  their  appointment  regardless  of  merit  but 


CARL  SCHURZ  73 

as  a  political  reward  —  and  in  the  Bureau  of  Indian 
Affairs,  were  of  unusual  value  to  the  nation. 

On  leaving  the  Department  of  the  Interior  at  the 
close  of  President  Hayes's  administration,  Schurz  was 
confronted  by  an  almost  embarrassing  number  of  po 
sitions  for  his  future  occupation.  For  a  time  he  oc 
cupied  an  editorial  position  on  the  New  York  Evening 
Post;  but  he  still  continued  to  take  an  active  and  im 
portant  part  in  the  politics  of  the  day.  For  some  years 
after  his  retirement  from  the  Post  he  devoted  him 
self  to  literature,  and  produced,  among  other  books, 
a  life  of  Henry  Clay  which  won  high  commendation. 

After  a  brief  business  episode,  he  again  returned  to 
the  field  of  journalism,  and  for  six  years  contributed 
weekly  the  leading  editorial  to  Harper's  Weekly.  Once 
again  he  visited  Europe;  but  old  age  was  growing 
heavy  on  his  shoulders,  and  on  his  return  to  the 
United  States  he  retired  each  year  a  little  more  from 
the  active  fields  of  politics  and  journalism  which 
had  so  long  held  him,  and  to  which  he  had  so  gladly 
contributed. 

On  May  14,  1906,  surrounded  by  his  children,  the 
end  came.  "Es  ist  so  einfach  zu  sterben"  (it  is  so  sim 
ple  to  die),  was  his  farewell  to  those  about  him.  As  he 
lived,  so  did  he  die,  simply  and  unafraid. 


THEODORE  THOMAS 

Born  in  Essen,  Germany,  1835 
Died  in  Chicago,  1905 

CIVILIZATION  is  a  condition  of  organization;  in  a  na 
tion  it  is  a  name  for  progress  and  enlightenment.  Lit 
erature,  art,  music,  and  science  are  measures  of  civili 
zation;  so  also  are  agricultural,  industrial,  and  social 
progress.  All  men  contributing  to  the  advancement 
of  civilization  are  benefactors  of  mankind.  The  in 
ventor,  the  artist,  the  physician,  the  scientist,  the 
manufacturer,  the  writer,  the  explorer,  and  the  musi 
cian,  all  contribute  to  human  happiness  and  advance 
ment. 

No  man  who  lives  for  himself  alone  can  add  to  the 
progress  of  the  world.  Only  they  who  unselfishly  have 
lived  for  others  deserve  the  gratitude  of  their  fellow 
men.  And  it  is  encouraging  that,  in  almost  every  case, 
those  men  who  have  accomplished  most  have  sooner 
or  later  received  their  high  rewards. 

Probably  no  nation  in  all  the  world  has  given  so 
much  in  so  short  a  time  to  civilization  as  the  United 
States.  The  reason  is  not  far  to  seek,  for  in  no  other 
country  have  such  opportunities  to  accomplish  their 
fine  desires  ever  been  offered  to  men  of  ambition  and 
ability;  never  has  there  been  so  fair  a  field  in  which 
each  man  might  rise  as  high  as  his  own  strength  would 
carry  him. 


Courtesy  of  A.  C.  McClurg  6*  Co. 


THEODORE  THOMAS  75 

Since  the  world  began,  music  has  been  a  part  of  the 
very  life  of  every  nation.  As  labor  in  the  shop  and 
field  and  mine  have  produced  the  material  things  so 
necessary  for  the  health  and  comfort  of  the  body,  so, 
for  the  development  of  the  mind  and  for  the  happi 
ness  of  all  people,  have  painters,  sculptors,  and  mu 
sicians  contributed  their  fairest  conceptions,  that  life 
might  be  more  beautiful  and  the  world  a  better  place 
to  live  in  for  all  mankind. 

In  the  older  European  countries  music  has  been 
handed  down  for  centuries  from  father  to  son.  In  con 
ditions  where  music  has  so  completely  become  a  part 
of  life,  great  musicians  from  time  to  time  have  lived 
and  left  their  lasting  contributions.  In  the  older  civ 
ilizations  there  was  a  fertile  field  long  cultivated  for 
the  ever-increasing  growth  of  music. 

In  the  United  States,  however,  another  condition 
existed.  Here  was  a  new  civilization,  transplanted  by 
early  settlers  from  beyond  the  sea.  Here  there  was  no 
existing  civilization  developed  through  centuries.  It 
was  a  land  to  which  had  come  men  and  women  from 
every  nation  in  the  world,  seeking  freedom  from  the 
rule  of  kings  and  a  place  where  they  might  live  in 
peace  and  equality,  regardless  of  their  birth.  Each 
brought  with  him  the  civilization  of  his  native  land. 
But  much  was  lost  in  the  migration;  there  was  no 
place,  at  first,  for  many  elements  of  European  civili 
zation  in  the  busy  life  of  the  new  world. 

For  half  a  century,  from  the  glorious  day  when  the 
United  States  cast  off  the  yoke  of  a  European  mon 
archy  and  became  a  republic,  there  was  small  time  in 


76  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

the  lives  of  Americans  for  music,  art,  and  all  the  other 
finer  elements  of  civilization.  It  was  necessary  that 
men  should  explore  and  open  up  the  vast  rich  country 
in  which  they  lived.  They  must  build  cities  and  plant 
fields  with  grain;  they  must  dig  deep  mines  and  find 
coal  and  metals,  and  they  must  cut  timber  from  the 
forests  for  the  needs  of  the  nation.  Also,  they  found 
it  necessary  to  develop  the  government  of  their  new 
nation,  and  form  from  the  wilderness,  where  once  only 
the  Indians  dwelt,  new  states  to  increase  the  union  of 
the  great  Republic. 

But  through  all  these  years  of  labor  there  remained 
in  the  minds  of  men  an  appreciation  of  those  other 
more  beautiful  factors  of  civilization;  memories  of  an 
inheritance  that  were  like  dreams  from  which  these 
pioneers  waited  to  be  awakened  by  someone  who,  at 
the  right  time,  would  come  to  them  and,  understand- 
ingly,  would  point  out  the  way.  The  love  of  music 
was  in  their  hearts. 

Meanwhile,  in  the  town  of  Essen,  in  Germany,  by 
the  North  Sea,  was  born,  on  the  eleventh  of  October, 
1835,  a  boy,  Theodore  Thomas,  who  in  a  few  short 
years  was  destined  to  bring  to  the  great  United  States 
that  appreciation  of  music  of  which  it  was  now  so 
thoroughly  unconscious. 

The  boy's  father  was  the  Stadtpfeifer,  or  town  mu 
sician,  of  Essen.  It  was  a  position  of  honor,  for  the 
Stadtpfeifer  played  on  all  important  occasions,  and 
many  great  musicians  have  held  this  title. 

From  infancy  the  boy  showed  an  aptitude  for  mu 
sic.  At  the  age  of  five  he  played  the  violin  in  public, 


THEODORE  THOMAS  77 

and  he  spent  as  much  of  his  play-time  as  he  could  with 
his  father's  orchestra,  playing  his  violin  and  reading 
all  the  new  music  he  could  find. 

When  he  was  ten  years  old,  the  family  emigrated  to 
America.  It  was  the  land  of  promise,  and  a  bigger  and 
brighter  future  seemed  to  await  them  in  the  vast  free 
United  States  than  in  the  sleepy  German  village  where 
for  generations  their  ancestors  had  been  born  and 
lived  and  died. 

This  was  before  the  days  of  fast  steamships;  then 
the  passage  of  the  Atlantic  was  made  in  sailing  ves 
sels,  and  often  the  voyage  lasted  as  many  weeks  as 
now  it  is  measured  by  days.  The  Thomas  family 
found  passage  on  an  American  vessel;  and  it  was  six 
long  weeks  after  their  departure  that  they  landed,  on 
a  hot  July  morning  in  the  year  1845,  in  the  city  of 
New  York. 

There  was  little  or  no  real  music  in  the  United 
States.  A  few  people  played  the  piano  or  cornet,  there 
were  a  number  of  brass  bands,  and  some  of  the  thea 
tres  boasted  of  a  few  musicians,  but  orchestras  and 
good  music  were  unknown. 

The  Thomas  family  was  a  large  one,  and  the  father 
worked  far  into  the  night,  playing  in  theatre  orches 
tras,  to  provide  for  his  wife  and  children.  It  was  only 
natural  that  young  Theodore,  with  his  musical  talent, 
should  be  called  upon  to  help;  and  so  almost  from  the 
beginning  the  boy  labored  with  the  father,  playing 
his  violin  in  various  theatres,  at  a  dancing-school,  and 
wherever  he  could  earn  an  honest  dollar. 

Three  years  later  the  father  enlisted  in  a  navy  band, 


78  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

and  the  boy  followed  him,  playing  second  horn  to  the 
father's  first.  But  a  year  later,  both  father  and  son 
left  the  navy;  and  as  the  former  was  now  able  alone  to 
provide  for  the  family,  young  Theodore  found  him 
self  free  to  carry  out  his  own  plans  and  lay  the  foun 
dations  for  his  future. 

With  a  little  box  of  clothing,  his  violin,  and  a  bundle 
of  posters  announcing  a  concert  by  "Master  T-T," 
Theodore  set  out  alone  to  try  his  fortune  with  the 
world.  For  a  year  he  wandered  through  the  Southern 
states,  giving  his  concerts  in  hotel  dining-rooms,  in 
schoolhouses,  or  wherever  he  considered  it  possible  to 
gather  an  audience.  As  the  people  arrived,  Theodore 
would  stand  at  the  door  and  take  in  the  money;  then, 
when  he  thought  that  all  who  were  coming  were  pres 
ent,  he  would  hurry  to  the  front  of  the  hall  and  begin 
the  concert. 

A  year  later  he  was  back  again  in  New  York,  poor 
in  pocket  but  rich  in  experience  of  the  world.  "I  was 
then  fifteen  years  old,"  he  later  wrote,  "and  somehow 
had  recognized  the  necessity  of  studying  if  I  expected 
to  accomplish  anything  in  this  world.  But  what?  I 
did  not  know,  of  course,  that  a  general  education  was 
needed,  or  even  what  it  meant.  My  first  idea  was  to 
become  a  virtuoso,  so  I  began  to  practise  and  play  in 


concerts." 


Shortly  after  his  return  to  New  York,  the  fifteen- 
year-old  boy  was  engaged  as  the  leading  violinist  in 
the  orchestra  of  a  German  theatre.  But  this  experi 
ence  gave  him  more  than  an  actual  living;  for  here  he 
became  acquainted  with  the  plays  of  the  great  Ger- 


THEODORE  THOMAS  79 

man  poets  and  masters  of  literature,  and  he  also  wid 
ened  his  musical  horizon  far  beyond  the  rather  limited 
boundaries  which  had  up  to  that  time  confined  it. 

During  the  next  two  or  three  years  his  musical  edu 
cation  prospered.  Great  singers  and  musicians  began 
occasionally  to  visit  America:  Jenny  Lind,  Sontag, 
Mario,  Grisi,  Bosio,  and  Alboni.  Thomas  played 
everywhere  in  concerts  and  operas,  and  this  gave  him 
constant  opportunity  to  hear  these  artists  under  the 
best  of  conditions.  "The  pure  and  musical  quality  of 
their  art,"  he  has  said,  "  was  of  great  value  in  forming 
the  taste  of  an  impressionable  boy  at  the  outset  of  his 
career."  The  influence  of  this  experience  did  much  to 
prepare  him  for  his  own  triumphs  in  coming  years. 

There  were  at  that  time  no  real  orchestras  in  Amer 
ica.  An  orchestra  meant  to  Thomas  a  selected  organ 
ization  of  skilled  musicians  "  sufficiently  subsidized  to 
enable  it»to  hold  the  rehearsals  necessary  for  artistic 
performances,  its  object  and  aim  to  be  to  attain  the 
highest  artistic  performance  of  master-works."  Of  the 
existing  orchestras  of  the  time  all  were  of  negligible 
quality,  and  their  leaders  mere  "time-beaters,"  in 
stead  of  true  musicians. 

But  at  this  time  such  a  leader  appeared  for  a  short 
period  in  the  circle  of  Thomas's  life.  Karl  Eckert,  the 
leader  of  the  orchestra  accompanying  Mademoiselle 
Sontag,  appeared  in  New  York,  and  Thomas  secured 
a  position  as  one  of  the  first  violinists  in  the  orchestra, 
a  position  from  which  he  was  soon  promoted  to  leader 
of  the  second  violins.  Thomas  gave  his  best  effort  to 
his  new  work.  It  was  a  place  of  responsibility,  and  the 


8o  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

boy  was  young,  but  he  saw  his  opportunity,  grasped 
it,  and  held  it. 

The  following  year  Thomas  won  promotion  to  Kon- 
zert-meister,  or  leader  of  the  first  violins;  and  here  his 
extreme  genius  became  the  more  apparent,  for  he  was 
now  the  leader  of  men  many  of  whom  were  old  enough 
to  be  his  father.  This  was  the  definite  beginning  of 
his  career,  for  the  experience  of  playing  in  a  well-or 
ganized  orchestra  gave  him  a  thorough  schooling,  not 
only  in  his  duties  as  Konzert-meister  but  —  and  this 
was  of  particular  value  to  him  —  in  the  practical  bus 
iness  side  of  orchestral  management. 

In  1853  his  education  was  further  broadened  by  a 
year  in  the  orchestra  of  Jullien,  a  famous  European 
conductor.  This  was  the  first  time  that  he  had  heard 
or  played  in  a  large  and  complete  orchestra,  and  the 
result  was  that  he  was  now  ready  to  step  out  from  the 
ranks  and  begin  to  develop  his  ability  as  an  individual 
and  a  leader. 

For  about  twelve  years  the  New  York  Philharmonic 
Society  had  struggled,  against  popular  indifference, 
to  create  a  source  of  real  music  in  the  community.  In 
1854  Thomas  was  elected  a  member.  He  was  nine 
teen  years  old.  For  thirty-six  years  he  was  destined  to 
hold  a  more  or  less  close  association  with  it,  first  as 
violinist  and  later  as  its  leader. 

In  the  year  1855  William  Mason,  "a  refined,  sin 
cere  and  highly  educated  musician,"  organized  a  quar 
tette  of  string  players.  Thomas  was  invited  to  play 
first  violin,  although  he  was  the  youngest  member  of 
the  quartette.  Mason  played  the  piano,  and  the  other 


THEODORE  THOMAS  81 

members  were  Carl  Bergmann,  J.  Mosenthal,  and 
G.  Matzka.  It  was  an  association  of  true  artists,  and 
its  influence  was  of  great  consequence  to  Thomas  in 
the  opportunity  which  it  afforded  for  the  expression  of 
his  art  and  in  the  lasting  friendships  which  it  formed. 

The  concerts  which  were  given  by  the  quartette 
were  known  as  "chamber  concerts,"  and  the  pro 
grammes  included  only  the  best  music  for  the  string 
quartette,  or  for  a  sonata  or  trio  with  piano  accom 
paniment.  Three  mornings  a  week  were  given  up  to 
rehearsals,  and  as  only  six  programmes  were  arranged 
for  the  year's  repertoire,  the  deep  interest  and  enthu 
siasm  of  all  the  members  is  apparent.  "It  was  this 
exhaustive  study  of  master-works,  especially  those  of 
Beethoven,  continued  through  fourteen  years,  which 
gave  Thomas  his  mastery  of  the  string  choir  of  the 
orchestra,  and  his  profound  insight  into  the  classical 
school  of  music." 

The  first  experience  of  Theodore  Thomas  in  con 
ducting  an  opera  is  characteristic  of  the  man  and  il 
lustrates  his  fine  self-confidence  and  his  instant  ac 
ceptance  of  opportunity.  One  evening  he  came  home 
from  his  work  and  settled  down  in  an  easy  chair  for  a 
few  hours  of  rest  and  relaxation.  A  few  blocks  away, 
at  the  Academy  of  Music,  an  opera  (Halevy's  "Jew 
ess")  was  to  be  sung.  The  house  was  filled  and  an 
impatient  audience  waited  for  the  curtain;  but  the 
conductor  was  ill,  and  there  was  no  one  to  take  his 
place.  Someone  thought  of  Thomas,  and  a  messenger 
was  sent  to  ask  him  if  he  would  conduct  the  opera. 
Thomas  had  never  before  conducted  an  opera;  he  was 

7 


82  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

wholly  unfamiliar  with  the  one  in  question.  But  his 
answer  was  an  immediate  "I  will."  And  he  did,  with 
complete  success. 

But  the  limitations  of  the  opera,  the  Philharmonic, 
and  the  quartette  could  not  satisfy  him,  and  in  1862, 
for  the  first  time,  he  announced  an  orchestral  concert 
under  his  own  direction.  This  was  the  first  "  Thomas 
concert."  The  orchestra  consisted  of  about  forty 
players.  In  the  programme  it  is  interesting  to  read  the 
titles  of  two  compositions  which  had  never  before 
been  played  in  America.  Here  was  the  intimation  of 
his  life-policy  of  giving  his  American  audience  the  best 
current  music,  often  before  it  was  completely  recog 
nized  in  the  Old  World. 

"In  1862  I  concluded  to  devote  my  energies  to  the 
cultivation  of  the  public  taste  for  instrumental  music. 
Our  chamber  concerts  had  created  a  spasmodic  inter 
est,  our  programmes  were  reprinted  as  models  of  their 
kind,  even  in  Europe,  and  our  performances  had 
reached  a  high  standard.  As  concert  violinist,  I  was  at 
that  time  popular,  and  played  much.  But  what  this 
country  needed  most  of  all  to  make  it  musical,  was  a 
good  orchestra,  and  plenty  of  concerts  within  the 
reach  of  the  people." 

After  several  seasons  of  occasional  concerts,  Thomas 
determined  to  organize  an  orchestra  of  his  own.  There 
was  no  endowment,  there  were  no  backers.  All  the 
responsibility  of  organization  and  finance  fell  on 
the  shoulders  of  the  young  leader.  The  orchestra  was 
called  the  "Theodore  Thomas  Orchestra,"  and  it  was 
truly  his,  in  name  and  fact.  With  a  firm  determina- 


THEODORE  THOMAS  83 

tion  to  bring  the  highest  form  of  music  to  the  people 
and  to  teach  them  thoroughly  to  enjoy  it,  he  began  a 
regular  series  of  evening  concerts;  and  after  a  season 
of  moderate  success,  he  inaugurated  a  series  of  Sum 
mer-Night  concerts,  given  in  the  open  air  in  a  park  in 
the  city. 

The  life-work  of  Theodore  Thomas  was  begun;  the 
little  violin-player  from  an  obscure  foreign  village  was 
fast  assuming  the  musical  leadership  of  a  nation  —  a 
nation  to  which  he  gave  musical  standards  and  an  un 
derstanding  of  his  art. 

In  the  next  few  years  a  number  of  important  events 
brightened  the  steady  work  which  had  become  now 
necessary  to  his  success.  The  leadership  of  the  Brook 
lyn  Philharmonic  Society  was  awarded  him,  a  posi 
tion  of  high  honor  which  enabled  him  to  employ  his 
own  orchestra  in  a  series  of  twenty  additional  con 
certs.  His  marriage  to  Miss  Minna  L.  Rhodes,  an 
event  which  brought  into  his  life  much  happiness  and 
an  influence  which  did  much  to  hasten  the  develop 
ment  of  his  rare  abilities,  occurred  during  this  period. 
Finally,  in  1867,  a  short  trip  to  Europe  became  possi 
ble;  and  at  London,  Paris,  Munich,  Vienna,  Dresden, 
and  Berlin  he  listened  to  the  performances  of  the  most 
celebrated  European  orchestras  and  gained  much  by 
comparison  of  them  with  his  own.  Moreover,  on  his 
return  to  the  United  States,  he  was  enabled  to  give 
to  his  audiences  the  most  modern  music  played  as  he 
had  heard  it  under  the  leadership  of  the  composers 
themselves. 

The  thought  has  often  occurred,  Why  did  not 


84  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

Theodore  Thomas  himself  become  a  composer?  To  be 
sure,  on  a  few  occasions  compositions  of  his  own  were 
given  to  the  public,  but  this  happened  only  during  his 
earlier  career.  The  answer  may  be  quoted  in  his  own 
words:  "As  a  young  man  I  wished  to  be  a  composer, 
but  circumstances  forced  me  into  the  executant's  ca 
reer.  My  creative  vein  was  worthy  of  development 
had  I  had  the  time  for  it,  but  it  fell  short  of  genius, 
and  I  believed  I  could  do  more  for  my  art  and  my 
country  by  familiarizing  the  people  with  the  literature 
already  created  than  by  adding  to  it  myself.  The  ex 
acting  nature  of  my  work  in  the  orchestra  required  all 
my  time  and  strength,  and  made  another  kind  of  seri 
ous  work  impossible;  and  as  long  as  I  could  not  give 
the  time  necessary  to  produce  compositions  which 
would  be  satisfactory  to  myself,  I  preferred  to  let  it 
alone  altogether." 

The  winter  concerts  and  the  Summer-Night  con 
certs  in  the  Central  Park  Garden  were  continued;  but 
the  revenue  from  the  winter  concerts  fell  short  of  the 
sum  which  the  expenses  of  the  organization  required, 
and  in  1868  Thomas  decided  to  give  them  up  and  play 
in  New  York  City  in  the  summer  only.  During  the 
winter  months  he  planned  to  carry  his  orchestra  about 
the  country,  and  by  playing  in  all  the  larger  cities,  not 
only  assure  himself  of  larger  houses,  but  at  the  same 
time  widen  the  scope  of  the  musical  education  which 
he  longed  to  afford  the  entire  country. 

Beginning  in  the  year  1869,  for  twenty-two  years 
Thomas  toured  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land. 
The  Southern  states  and  New  England  heard  his  rare 


THEODORE  THOMAS  85 

programmes;  San  Francisco  and  Montreal  anticipated 
with  eagerness  his  next  arrival;  and  even  to  the  new 
frontier  lands  of  Texas  the  tireless  conductor  led  his 
little  company  of  musicians.  For  years  identified  with 
New  York  City,  he  now  became  a  national  figure,  an 
individual  who  had  given  himself  to  and  was  claimed 
by  the  entire  country. 

Among  the  first  cities  to  give  him  recognition  were 
Boston  and  Cincinnati.  In  the  former  city  a  musical 
critic  wrote:  "The  visit  of  this  famous  orchestra  has 
given  our  music-lovers  a  new  and  quick  sensation. 
Boston  has  not  heard  such  performances  before.  We 
thank  Mr.  Thomas  for  setting  palpably  before  us  a 
higher  ideal  of  orchestral  execution."  In  Cincinnati 
music  had  long  been  an  important  part  of  the  life  of 
the  city.  "  We  have  not  seen  at  any  time  audiences  so 
wrought  upon  as  those  that  attended  the  concerts  of 
Theodore  Thomas";  and  "the  finest  orchestral  music 
that  has  ever  been  given  in  this  city,"  wrote  the  news 
papers.  It  was  the  same  everywhere:  wherever  the 
orchestra  played,  praise  unstinted  was  accorded. 

During  this  period  of  his  life  Thomas  devoted  a  con 
siderable  part  of  his  energies  to  the  conducting  of  "fes 
tivals"  in  the  large  cities  of  the  country.  These  festi 
vals  were  elaborately  planned  musical  programmes, 
in  which  the  orchestra  and  often  several  hundred 
voices  took  part.  The  festivals  were  in  some  cities 
annual  affairs,  in  which  the  local  singing  societies 
cooperated.  The  festivals  held  in  New  York,  Cincin 
nati,  and  Chicago  were  particularly  popular,  and  their 
success  and  popularity  may  be  truly  said  to  have  been 


86  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

almost  entirely  due  to  the  untiring  work  of  their 
great  conductor. 

But  success  and  recognition  in  the  lives  of  great 
men  rarely  come  without  compensating  failures  and 
disappointments;  and  in  the  life  of  Theodore  Thomas 
were  many  days  when  failure  seemed  to  be  his  chief 
reward.  The  great  Chicago  fire  in  1871,  which  de 
stroyed  almost  the  entire  city,  caused  him  a  financial 
loss  that  he  was  hardly  able  to  bear.  Then,  in  1876, 
came  the  Philadelphia  Centennial  Exposition,  com 
memorating  the  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  found 
ing  of  the  United  States.  A  great  musical  programme 
was  planned  and  Thomas  was  honored  with  its  entire 
direction.  But  the  crowds  visiting  the  exposition  did 
not  appreciate  the  concerts,  and  to  the  deep  disap 
pointment  of  Thomas  and  the  committee  behind  the 
plan,  they  were  so  poorly  attended  that  it  was  soon 
necessary  to  abandon  them.  This  was  a  hard  blow  to 
Thomas.  He  had  lost  much  money  on  account  of  the 
Chicago  disaster,  and  now  this  new  calamity  in 
creased  the  losses  which  he  could  ill  afford.  Financial 
ruin  faced  him.  His  large  and  valuable  musical 
library,  his  only  asset,  was  seized  by  the  sheriff  to 
pay  the  debts  of  the  orchestra.  The  library  consisted 
of  musical  scores,  collected  throughout  a  lifetime, 
without  which  he  could  not  conduct  his  orchestra. 
Only  the  kindness  of  a  loyal  friend,  who  bought  up  the 
library  and  gave  it  back  to  Thomas  several  years  later, 
saved  him  from  complete  disaster.  As  it  was,  he 
might  well  have  gone  into  bankruptcy  and  settled  his 
debts;  but  his  fine  sense  of  honor  prevailed,  and  he 


THEODORE  THOMAS  87 

preferred  to  assume  his  responsibilities  in  full  and 
meet  them  in  their  entirety  in  later  years. 

In  1878  he  received  an  offer  to  establish  and  direct 
a  college  of  music  which  a  number  of  influential  and 
wealthy  men  proposed  to  found  in  the  city  of  Cincin 
nati.  Thomas  gladly  undertook  the  directorship,  and 
a  splendid  institution  developed  under  his  wise  guid 
ance;  but  the  scheme  which  he  planned  was  greater 
than  the  board  of  directors  desired;  and,  seeing  that  it 
would  be  impossible  for  him  to  carry  out  his  complete 
plans,  he  resigned  from  his  office  in  1880  and  returned 
to  his  former  work  as  an  orchestra  leader. 
.  Another  trip  to  Europe  brightened  the  gloom  which 
had  surrounded  the  recent  years  of  disappointment, 
and  the  recognition  which  now  began  to  be  accorded 
him  helped  to  bring  back  his  spirit  of  optimism  for  the 
future.  The  conductorship  of  the  London  Philhar 
monic  Society  was  offered  to  him;  a  high  honor  which 
only  his  love  for  his  adopted  country  forced  him  to  re 
fuse.  In  the  same  year  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Music,  "by  way  of  recognition  of  the  substantial 
service  which  he  has  rendered  to  musical  culture  in 
the  United  States,"  was  conferred  upon  him  by  Yale 
University.  Other  universities  later  conferred  similar 
degrees,  and  of  the  many  honors  which  came  to  him 
there  were  none  which  he  more  highly  prized. 

The  next  few  years  were  years  of  triumph,  for  dur 
ing  this  period  Thomas  devoted  himself  to  the  manage- 
Jment  of  great  musical  festivals  in  New  York,  Cin 
cinnati,  and  Chicago,  and  finally,  in  1885,  conducted 
a  festival  tour  from  New  York  to  San  Francisco. 


88  AMERICANS   BY  ADOPTION 

Another  financial  setback  came  now,  hard  on  the 
heels  of  this  period  of  success,  for  he  was  induced  to 
accept  the  musical  leadership  of  an  American  opera 
company,  an  enterprise  which  seemed  to  contain 
every  necessary  element  for  success.  But  after  a  short 
life  the  entire  project  proved  itself  a  failure,  and  once 
again  Thomas  returned  to  the  orchestra,  which  for 
the  rest  of  his  life  he  was  destined  never  again  to  leave. 
In  1889  the  death  of  his  wife  came  as  another  blow 
which  seemed  impossible,  for  the  time,  to  bear.  But  a 
new  and  final  period  in  his  life  was  already  dawning,  a 
period  of  recognition  and  accomplishment. 

Theodore  Thomas  had  once  said :  "  Chicago  is  the 
only  city  on  the  continent,  except  New  York,  where 
there  is  sufficient  musical  culture  to  enable  me  to  give 
a  series  of  fifty  successive  concerts."  In  1881  a  per 
manent  orchestra  was  established  in  Boston,  and  Chi 
cago  became  ambitious  to  follow  the  example.  The 
leadership  of  the  new  Chicago  orchestra  was  offered  to 
Thomas.  New  York  had  in  a  large  measure  failed  to 
fulfill  his  expectations.  But  what  New  York  would 
not  provide,  Chicago  offered.  The  opportunity  could 
not  be  refused,  and  Thomas  accepted. 

Conditions  for  the  founding  of  a  permanent  Chi 
cago  orchestra  were  far  from  favorable.  There  was  no 
building  suitable  for  orchestral  purposes;  the  cultiva 
ted  class  of  the  population  was  small,  and,  moreover, 
the  city  did  not  afford  musicians  of  a  quality  suited 
for  the  formation  of  the  orchestra.  But  Thomas 
throve  on  adversity.  From  New  York  he  imported 
sixty  musicians,  of  whom  half  a  dozen  had  been  mem- 


THEODORE  THOMAS  89 

bers  of  the  old  New  York  Thomas  Orchestra,  and  with 
thirty  selected  Chicago  players  he  completed  the  nec 
essary  quota  of  ninety  men.  Concerts  were  given  in 
buildings  unsuited  for  this  kind  of  entertainment,  un 
der  the  most  trying  conditions,  but  the  public  was 
taught  to  undertsand  the  worth  of  the  great  undertak 
ing  by  the  most  carefully  arranged  programmes. 

Success  came  at  last.  For  a  period  the  expenses  of 
the  orchestra  were  carried  by  a  number  of  liberal  and 
far-sighted  citizens;  but  finally  it  was  decided  to  find 
out  how  sincerely  such  music  was  actually  desired  by 
the  people.  A  general  appeal  for  an  endowment  fund 
was  made,  the  fund  to  be  invested  in  a  suitable  home 
for  the  orchestra. 

The  result  was  far  beyond  the  wildest  hopes  of  the 
projectors  of  the  plan.  In  less  than  a  year  almost 
$700,000  was  subscribed  by  over  eight  thousand  sub 
scribers,  from  every  corner  of  the  vast  city,  from  every 
class  of  society,  from  rich  and  from  poor. 

It  was  the  realization  of  the  dream  of  Thomas's 
youth.  The  home  of  the  Thomas  Orchestra  was  dedi 
cated  in  1904.  This  building,  contributed  by  the 
people  that  the  music  which  he  had  brought  into  their 
lives  might  become  a  part  of  their  existence,  is  his 
monument,  which  will  long  endure.  But  more  lasting 
than  those  walls  of  stone  is  the  recognition  which  his 
tory  will  accord  to  him  who  in  his  way  made  the 
world  a  better  living-place  for  his  countrymen. 

Theodore  Thomas  died  in  the  year  that  followed  the 
dedication  of  the  home  of  his  orchestra.  The  fourteen 
final  years  of  his  life  had  found  in  Chicago  the  material 


90  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

appreciation  which  he  deserved.  A  second  marriage  — 
this  time  to  Miss  Rose  Fay  —  brought  him  its  hap 
piness.  With  no  precedents,  no  traditions,  and  no  ex 
perience  of  others  to  guide  him,  he  had  done  the  kind 
of  work  for  music  in  the  United  States  that  the  first 
settlers  had  done  when  they  ploughed  their  first  fur 
rows  in  the  wilderness.  He  had  blazed  the  trail;  he 
had  opened  the  way  that  others  might  follow  on. 

"  German-born,  associated  with  German  musicians 
all  through  his  life,  meeting  them  daily,  and  living  as 
it  were  in  a  German  atmosphere, .  yet  he  was  the 
strongest  of  Americans  in  sentiment,  disposition,  feel 
ing  and  patriotism.  Many  a  time  have  I  heard  him 
resent  foreign  slurs  upon  American  institutions,  and 
defend  the  national  government's  policy  against  its 
critics.  His  love  for  the  United  States,  where  he  had 
lived  from  boyhood,  and  his  respect  and  admiration 
for  the  broad-minded  views  of  its  people  as  well  as 
their  public  spirit,  was  deep,  hearty,  and  sincere." 
Such  was  Theodore  Thomas  in  the  estimation  of  one 
who  knew  him  well. 

His  creed  was  simple,  but  it  was  a  creed  from  which 
he  never  deviated.  "Throughout  my  life  my  aim  has 
been  to  make  good  music  popular,  and  now  it  appears 
that  I  have  only  done  the  public  justice  in  believing, 
and  acting  constantly  on  the  belief,  that  the  people 
would  enjoy  and  support  the  best  in  art  when  con 
tinually  set  before  them  in  a  clear  and  intelligent 


manner." 


VI 
ANDREW  CARNEGIE 

Born  in  Dunfermline,  Scotland,  1835 
Died  in  Lenox,  Massachusetts,  1919 

THE  little  town  of  Dunfermline  in  Scotland  has  for 
centuries  been  famous  for  its  weaving.  For  genera 
tions  have  the  sturdy  inhabitants  devoted  their  lives 
to  the  looms.  And  here,  in  this  quiet  and  humble  cor 
ner  of  the  busy  world,  was  born,  on  the  twenty-fifth 
of  November,  1835,  a  small  baby  whom  his  parents 
named  Andrew,  who  was  destined  to  become  one  of 
the  richest  men  that  the  world  has  seen,  a  citizen  of 
the  United  States,  a  world  philanthropist,  and  a  true 
captain  of  industry.  So  simply  was  Andrew  Carnegie 
born  into  the  tremendous  nineteenth  century. 

Andrew's  father  was  a  weaver  of  damasks,  as  had 
been  his  father  and  grandfathers  for  generations  back 
in  the  Carnegie  history;  and  the  boy  was  doubtless 
expected  by  his  parents  to  carry  on  the  established 
vocation  of  the  family.  But,  as  so  often  happens,  cir 
cumstances  unforeseen  and  impossible  to  anticipate 
abruptly  changed  the  whole  life-work  of  a  community, 
and  in  the  change  the  small  boy's  life  was  directed 
into  a  new  channel  which  was  destined  to  bring  him 
the  greatest  material  rewards.  The  Carnegies  wove 
with  hand-looms.  Suddenly,  invention  gave  the  pow 
er-loom  to  the  world.  Gone  immediately  was  the 


92  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

demand  for  the  now  more  costly  product  of  skilled 
and  patient  fingers.  The  swift  machines  destroyed  a 
trade  to  build  an  industry,  and  in  the  destruction  the 
Carnegie  family  was  swept  into  new  work  and  a  new 
environment. 

With  his  only  means  of  earning  a  living  destroyed, 
necessity  compelled  the  elder  Carnegie  to  seek  occu 
pation  somewhere  beyond  the  limits  of  the  quiet 
Scotch  town.  Across  the  Atlantic  a  great  new  repub 
lic  was  just  reaching  its  young  manhood.  Its  fast- 
sailing  clippers  had  made  the  Stars  and  Stripes  of  its 
flag  known  on  every  sea,  and  tales  of  the  daring  Yan 
kee  skippers  had  brought  to  complacent  England 
a  rude  awakening  from  her  peaceful  sense  of  maritime 
supremacy.  Within  its  boundaries  even  greater  de 
velopments  were  taking  form  under  the  firm  hands  of 
the  Americans.  A  rich  inland  empire  was  disclosing 
wealth  beyond  dreams  of  men:  mines  of  iron  and  coal 
and  various  metals,  forests  unexplored  and  seemingly 
limitless,  millions  of  rich  acres  unturned  by  the 
ploughshare  and  destined  in  time  to  come  to  feed  the 
world.  Already  minds  of  vision  were  organizing  rail 
roads  to  bring  together  these  riches  and  to  make 
them  accessible  to  the  nation  as  a  whole.  All  over 
the  world  people  were  turning  from  war-scarred  and 
time-worn  nations  oppressed  by  the  rule  of  kings  to 
this  free  land  of  promise.  Men  and  women  and  little 
children  crossed  the  broad  Atlantic  to  live  happily 
in  a  country  where  men  ruled  themselves  by  self- 
imposed  laws,  and  where  education  gave  to  all  an 
equal  opportunity.  And  with  these  went  also  the 


— — 


ANDREW  CARNEGIE  93 

Carnegie  family,  to  add  their  sturdy  strength  to  the 
great  Republic. 

There  were  four  in  the  little  family  —  the  father, 
mother,  and  two  boys,  Andrew  and  Thomas.  Andrew 
was  thirteen  years  old  and  his  brother  four  when  this 
great  life-changing  event  occurred  —  too  young  to 
realize  its  significance  or  to  find  in  it  much  else  but 
the  romance  and  adventure  of  a  sea-voyage  and  the 
excitement  of  seeing  new  places  and  strange  faces. 
There  was  a  considerable  cotton  manufacture  in  Alle 
gheny  City,  Pennsylvania,  and  there  the  Carnegie 
family  settled,  in  a  neighborhood  known  as  Barefoot 
Square  in  a  part  of  the  city  called  Slabtown.  Andrew 
was  old  enough  to  work,  and  money  was  needed  to 
meet  the  higher  costs  of  living  in  this  new  land;  so 
both  father  and  son  found  work  in  the  same  cotton 
mill,  Andrew  as  a  bobbin-boy  at  a  wage  of  $1.20  a 
week. 

This  was  the  first  step  in  Andrew's  career,  and  other 
steps  came  with  wha,t  seemed  a  marked  rapidity. 
But  it  was  not  that  unusual  opportunities  confronted 
the  lad;  on  the  contrary,  nothing  could  have  seemed 
to  offer  a  more  slender  promise  than  the  arduous  and 
elementary  work  which  he  gladly  accepted.  The 
promise  lay  rather  in  the  boy;  and,  as  is  ever  the  case, 
Andrew  was  in  those  early  years  proving  the  old  tru 
ism  that  the  right  kind  of  a  boy  rises  above  adversity 
and  grows  strong  by  battling  with  discouragement. 

Andrew  was  soon  promoted,  at  a  slight  increase  in 
pay,  to  be  engineer's  assistant  in  the  factory.  For 
twelve  long  hours  each  day  he  shoveled  coal  under  the 


94  AMERICANS    BY  ADOPTION 

boilers  and  ran  the  engine.  His  pay  was  now  $1.80  a 
week,  and  all  of  it  went  into  the  family  purse;  for  not 
only  was  all  the  money  earned  by  father  and  son  re 
quired  for  the  household  expenses,  but  Mrs.  Carnegie 
added  her  mite  by  taking  in  washing  from  the  neigh 
bors.  And  it  is  interesting  to  recollect  that  of  these 
neighbors  one  named  Phipps,  a  shoemaker,  had  a  son 
Harry,  a  chum  of  Andrew's,  who  also,  in  later  years, 
became  a  man  of  wealth  and  importance  in  the  na 
tion's  business  affairs. 

A  year  later  Andrew  again  made  an  advance;  for, 
leaving  his  work  in  the  cellar  of  the  factory,  he  took  a 
job  as  district  messenger  boy  for  the  telegraph  com 
pany,  at  $3.00  a  week.  Now  came  an  opportunity 
which  his  conscientious  study  enabled  him  to  grasp. 
Ever  since  he  had  obtained  his  job  with  the  telegraph 
company  he  had  studied  telegraphy  and  spent  all  his 
spare  time  in  practice.  "My  entrance  into  the  tele 
graph  office,"  he  once  said,  "was  a  transition  from 
darkness  to  light  —  from  firing  a  small  engine  in  a 
dirty  cellar  into  a  clean  office  with  bright  windows  and 
a  literary  atmosphere;  with  books,  newspapers,  pens, 
and  pencils  all  around  me,  I  was  the  happiest  boy 
alive."  One  morning,  before  the  telegraph  operator 
reached  the  office,  a  message  was  signaled  from  Phila 
delphia.  Andrew  was  always  early  at  work,  and  al 
though  the  boys  were  not  supposed  to  know  anything 
about  the  instruments  or  allowed  to  touch  them,  he 
jumped  to  the  receiver  and  took  down  the  message 
with  accuracy.  His  resourcefulness  and  willingness 
to  assume  responsibility  were  immediately  recognized, 


ANDREW  CARNEGIE  95 

and  he  was  promoted  to  operator,  at  a  salary  of  $300 
a  year. 

In  addition  to  his  study  of  telegraphy  Andrew,  dur 
ing  this  period,  became  a  constant  reader  of  good 
books.  A  gentleman  living  in  the  neighborhood  had 
opened  his  private  library  to  Andrew  and  a  few  other 
boys  every  week-end,  and  gave  them  permission  to 
take  certain  books  home  with  them.  Andrew  made 
full  use  of  the  opportunity.  "  Only  he  who  has  longed 
as  I  did  for  Saturdays  to  come,"  he  said  in  after  years, 
"can  understand  what  Colonel  Anderson  did  for  me 
and  the  boys  of  Allegheny.  Is  it  any  wonder  that  I 
resolved,  if  ever  surplus  wealth  came  to  me,  I  would 
use  it  imitating  my  benefactor?" 

The  boy's  earnest  attention  to  his  work  was  not 
long  unnoticed,  and  the  divisional  superintendent  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  hearing  of  his  quickness 
and  enthusiasm,  appointed  him  railway  operator  in 
his  own  office,  increasing  his  salary  to  $35  a  month. 
A  second  opportunity  to  assume  responsibility  oc 
curred.  During  the  superintendent's  absence  from 
the  office  early  one  morning,  an  accident  was  reported 
on  one  of  the  lines,  which  tied  up  the  road  and  threat 
ened  a  costly  blockade.  Andrew  at  once  took  charge 
of  the  situation,  and  knowing  exactly  what  the  super 
intendent  would  do  in  such  a  situation,  wrote  out  the 
necessary  orders,  to  which  he  signed  the  superintend 
ent's  name,  to  set  the  trains  again  in  motion,  and 
straightened  out  the  whole  difficulty.  When  his  chief 
arrived,  Andrew  reported  what  he  had  done.  The  su 
perintendent  said  nothing  to  him,  but  to  the  president 


96  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

of  the  railroad  he  wrote  that  he  "had  a  little  Scotch 
man  in  his  office  who  would  run  the  whole  road  if  they 
would  only  give  him  a  chance." 

When  Andrew  was  sixteen  his  father  died,  and  the 
boy  became  the  head  of  the  family;  and  it  was  at  this 
time  that  he  made  his  first  investment,  although  it 
was  necessary,  with  his  mother's  help,  to  borrow  the 
required  money. 

"  One  day  Mr.  Scott  [the  superintendent  of  his  divi 
sion],  who  was  the  kindest  of  men  and  had  taken  a 
great  fancy  to  me,  asked  if  I  had  or  could  find  five 
hundred  dollars  to  invest.  .  .  .  I  answered  promptly : 

"'Yes,  sir,  I  think  I  can.' 

"'Very  well,'  he  said,  'get  it.  A  man  has  just  died 
who  owns  ten  shares  in  the  Adams  Express  Company, 
that  I  want  you  to  buy.  It  will  cost  you  sixty  dollars  a 
share.  I  will  advance  the  remaining  hundred  dollars.' 

"The  matter  was  laid  before  the  council  of  three 
that  night  and  the  oracle  spoke.  'Must  be  done. 
Mortgage  our  house.  I  will  take  the  steamer  in  the 
morning  for  Ohio  and  see  uncle  and  ask  him  to  ar 
range  it.  I  am  sure  he  can.'  Of  course  her  visit  was 
successful  —  where  did  she  ever  fail? 

"The  money  was  procured;  paid  over;  ten  shares  of 
Adams  Express  Company  stock  was  mine,  but  no  one 
knew  our  little  home  had  been  mortgaged  '  to  give  our 
boy  a  start.' 

"Adams  Express  then  paid  monthly  dividends  of 
one  per  cent,  and  the  first  check  arrived.  .  .  . 

"The  next  day  being  Sunday,  we  boys  —  myself 
and  my  ever-constant  companions  —  took  our  usual 


ANDREW  CARNEGIE  97 

Sunday  afternoon  stroll  in  the  country,  and  sitting 
down  in  the  woods  I  showed  them  this  check,  saying, 
'Eureka!  I  have  found  it.' 

"Here  was  something  new  to  all  of  us,  for  none  of 
us  had  ever  received  anything  but  from  toil.  A  return 
from  capital  was  something  strange  and  new." 

Concentrating  his  entire  efforts  on  his  work,  An 
drew  learned  all  that  there  was  to  know  about  train- 
dispatching  and  began  to  improve  on  the  existing 
methods.  Time  passed,  and  Colonel  Scott  becoming 
vice-president  of  the  railroad,  Andrew  promptly 
stepped  into  the  position  of  division  superintendent 
which  Colonel  Scott  vacated.  Carnegie  was  now 
twenty-eight  years  old  and  by  careful  saving  and  in 
vestment  he  had  acquired  a  tidy  capital.  A  chance  to 
invest  in  one  of  the  first  sleeping-car  companies  had 
been  accepted  by  him,  and  a  large  profit  was  ulti 
mately  made  out  of  the  investment,  although  at  the 
time  Carnegie  had  to  borrow  the  money  for  the  stock 
of  a  banker  in  Altoona  and  repay  the  loan  at  the  rate 
of  $15  a  month.  A  fortunate  speculation  in  oil,  which 
his  savings  permitted  him  to  make,  gave  him  his  first 
real  profit,  and  put  him  immediately  in  a  position  to 
play  with  larger  affairs  in  a  larger  way. 

In  the  year  1865  Carnegie  was  thirty  years  old.  As 
division  superintendent  of  the  Pennsylvania  he  had 
won  for  himself  a  place  from  which  he  could  view  a 
wider  horizon;  a  large  field  of  opportunities  was  visi 
ble.  Also,  he  had  saved  his  money;  he  was  in  a  posi 
tion  to  seize  an  opportunity  when  it  appeared. 

During  the  great  Civil  War  Carnegie  had  been  put 


98  AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

in  charge  of  the  government  telegraph  and  had  done 
well  the  important  work  which  fell  to  him.  But  with 
the  close  of  the  war  and  the  beginning  of  the  period  of 
reconstruction,  he  saw  a  greater  field  for  the  exercise 
of  his  business  abilities.  Iron  was  in  great  demand. 
Carnegie  had  already  been  active  in  the  foundation  of 
a  mill  for  the  production  of  structural  iron;  for  three 
years  the  company  had  stood  on  the  brink  of  failure; 
but  Carnegie  was  not  a  "quitter,'''  and  he  hung  on  to 
his  faith.  Now,  with  his  brother  and  several  other 
partners,  he  formed  the  Union  Iron  Mills.  The  profits 
were  enormous.  Vast  railroad  development  through 
out  the  country  required  rails  and  structural  iron. 
Steel  rails  were  worth  from  $90  to  $100  a  ton.  The 
manufacture  of  steel  seemed  to  oifer  even  greater 
prospects  than  iron. 

In  1868  Carnegie  visited  England.  In  the  early 
days  of  the  nineteenth  century  England  controlled  the 
iron  business  of  the  world;  and  when  Carnegie  made 
his  first  trip  abroad,  there  were  fifty-nine  Bessemer 
Steel  plants  in  Europe  and  only  three  in  the  United 
States.  To-day,  the  United  States  produces  over  two 
fifths  of  all  the  steel  and  iron  in  the  world,  and  the  be 
ginning  of  this  great  American  industry  can  be  found 
in  the  enterprise  of  the  son  of  the  poor  Scotch  weaver. 

Carnegie  had  faith  in  steel.  By  the  Bessemer  pro 
cess  steel  of  high  quality  was  economically  produced 
by  decarbonizing  cast  iron  by  forcing  a  blast  of  air 
through  the  mass  of  metal  when  it  is  in  a  molten  con 
dition.  Carnegie  saw  the  merits  of  this  process, 
brought  the  idea  home  with  him,  and  adopted  it  in  his 


ANDREW  CARNEGIE  99 

mills.  The  vindication  of  his  faith  was  immediate.  In 
an  incredibly  short  time  he  had  obtained  control  of 
seven  great  plants  in  the  vicinity  of  Pittsburgh:  the 
Homestead,  the  Edgar  Thomson,  the  Duquesne  Steel 
Works  and  Furnaces,  the  Lucy  Furnaces,  the  Key 
stone  Bridge  Works,  the  Upper  and  Lower  Union 
Rolling  Mills.  In  the  town  to  which  he  had  come  a 
poor  lad  from  a  foreign  land,  Carnegie  was  now  as 
suming  the  proportions  of  a  giant  of  industry. 

Nothing  was  too  good  or  too  costly  for  the  perfect 
ing  of  the  industry.  "Carnegie  was  the  first  steel 
maker  in  any  country  who  flung  good  machinery  on 
the  scrap  heap  because  something  better  had  been  in 
vented.  He  was  the  first  to  employ  a  salaried  chemist, 
and  to  appreciate  science  in  its  relation  to  manufac 
turing.  In  his  early  days  he  was  the  biggest  borrower 
in  Pennsylvania;  and  when  the  profits  grew  large 
they  were  poured  back,  to  fertilize  the  soil  from  whence 
they  grew.  ...  So  it  is  clear  that,  primarily,  the  aim 
of  Andrew  Carnegie  was  not  to  make  large  dividends 
or  to  sell  stock,  but  to  establish  a  solid  and  enduring 
industrial  structure.  First  of  all,  he  was  a  business 
builder;  and  the  present  unequaled  prosperity  in  our 
iron  and  steel  trade  is  largely  due  to  the  fact  that 
American  steel-makers  have  adopted  the  Carnegie 
policy  of  ranking  improvements  above  dividends." 

To  protect  the  supply  of  coal  which  his  vast  steel 
manufacture  now  required,  in  1889  Carnegie  joined 
forces  with  Henry  C.  Frick,  who  dominated  the  coke- 
making  industry.  As  a  result,  his  companies  soon 
"owned  and  controlled  mines  producing  6,000,000 


ioo         AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

tons  of  ore  annually;  40,000  acres  of  coal  land,  and 
12,000  coke  ovens;  steamship  lines  for  transporting 
ore  to  Lake  Erie  ports;  docks  for  handling  ore  and 
coal,  and  a  railroad  from  Lake  Erie  to  Pittsburgh; 
70,000  acres  of  natural-gas  territory,  with  200  miles  of 
pipe-line;  nineteen  blast  furnaces  and  five  steel  mills, 
producing  and  finishing  3,250,000  tons  of  steel  annu 
ally.  The  pay-roll  of  the  year  exceeded  $18,000,000." 

Gradually  consolidating  his  interests,  Carnegie 
formed  in  1890,  the  Carnegie  Company,  with  a  paid  up 
capital  of  $160,000,000,  and  in  1899  his  interests  were 
merged  into  the  Carnegie  Steel  Company.  Although 
still  as  active  in  affairs  as  ever,  Carnegie  now  deter 
mined  to  retire  from  active  business.  In  an  address 
delivered  at  Pittsburgh  he  gave  his  reasons.  "An 
opportunity  to  retire  from  business  came  to  me  un 
sought,  which  I  considered  it  my  duty  to  accept.  My 
resolve  was  made  in  youth  to  retire  before  old  age. 
From  what  I  have  seen  around  me,. I  cannot  doubt  the 
wisdom  of  this  course,  although  the  change  is  great, 
even  serious,  and  seldom  brings  happiness.  But  this  is 
because  so  many,  having  abundance  to  retire  upon, 
have  so  little  to  retire  to.  I  have  always  felt  that  old 
age  should  be  spent,  not  as  the  Scotch  say,  in  'making 
mickle  mair,'  but  in  making  good  use  of  what  has  been 
acquired ;  and  I  hope  my  friends  will  approve  of  my 
action  in  retiring  while  still  in  full  health  and  vigor, 
and  I  can  reasonably  expect  many  years  of  usefulness 
in  fields  which  have  other  than  personal  aims." 

The  "opportunity"  to  which  Carnegie  referred  was 
the  merging,  in  1901,  of  the  Carnegie  Steel  Company 


ANDREW  CARNEGIE  101 

into  the  United  States  Steel  Corporation.  For  his  per 
sonal  interest  Carnegie  received  $420,000,000. 

Freed  from  business,  the  iron-master  turned  to  fol 
low  the  paths  to  which  his  idealism  had  constantly 
called  him.  Always  a  reader  and  a  student  of  books, 
he  now  found  himself  able  to  make,  through  public 
libraries,  books  everywhere  available,  and  in  various 
cities  and  towns  he  contributed  for  library  buildings 
more  than  $60,000,000.  Still  further  to  advance  edu 
cation  and  bring  its  advantages  to  all  who  sought  it, 
he  made  other  gifts,  consisting  of  $24,000,000  to  the 
Institute  at  Pittsburgh,  $22,000,000  to  the  Carnegie 
Institute  in  Washington,  and  $10,000,000  to  the  Uni 
versities  of  Scotland.  At  the  time  of  his  death  in  1919, 
it  was  estimated  that  he  had  given  away  to  education 
and  other  worthy  causes  over  $350,000,000. 

Behind  this  generous  distribution  of  his  great 
wealth  was  a  desire  to  distribute  his  fortune  before  his 
death.  "The  day  is  not  far  distant,"  he  once  said, 
"when  the  man  who  dies  leaving  behind  him  available 
wealth  which  was  free  to  him  to  administer  during 
life,  will  pass  away  'unwept,  unhonored  and  unsung/ 
no  matter  to  what  use  he  leaves  the  dross  that  he  can 
not  take  away  with  him.  Of  such  the  public  verdict 
will  be:  'The  man  who  dies  thus  rich,  dies  disgraced." 

Many  other  worthy  causes  held  Carnegie's  interest 
from  his  retirement  from  business  to  his  death.  Of  all 
his  public  activities,  he  took  perhaps  greatest  interest 
in  the  cause  of  world  peace.  He  believed  in  arbi 
tration  instead  of  war,  and  aided  in  the  organiza 
tion  of  various  leagues  and  commissions  to  that  end. 


102          AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

But  although  Carnegie  was  one  of  the  world's  most 
generous  givers  he  had  no  desire  to  abolish  poverty. 
"We  should,"  he  said,  "be  quite  willing  to  abolish  lux 
ury,  but  to  abolish  honest,  industrious,  self-denying 
poverty  would  be  to  destroy  the  soil  upon  which  man 
kind  produces  the  virtues  which  enable  our  race  to 
reach  a  still  higher  civilization  than  it  now  possesses." 
Not  to  help  men  were  his  millions  given,  but  to  help 
men  to  help  themselves.  In  his  long  list  of  philanthro 
pies,  education  is  the  goal.  "Nothing  for  the  sub 
merged,"  was  his  motto;  but  for  the  boy  or  man  who 
honestly  strove  to  force  his  way  upward  Carnegie 
would  give  all. 

During  the  latter  years  of  his  life  honors  came  to 
him.  He  was  made  Lord  Rector  of  the  University  of 
St.  Andrews,  Edinburgh,  in  1903,  and  received  from 
the  same  university  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  in 
1905.  In  1907  France  made  him  a  Commander  of 
the  Legion  of  Honor,  and  in  the  same  year  the  Queen 
of  Holland  conferred  on  him  the  Order  of  Orange- 
Nassau.  By  his  adopted  country  he  was  held  in  high 
regard,  and  among  other  honors  was  made  an  hono 
rary  alumnus  of  the  University  of  Princeton. 

Simple,  as  his  parents  had  been  before  him,  in  spite 
of  his  vast  wealth  which  opened  the  world  to  him, 
Carnegie  desired  that  the  world  should  know  his 
pride  in  his  own  hard  struggle  and  in  the  poverty  of 
his  birth.  On  the  crest  which  he  designed  for  himself  is 
a  weaver's  shuttle,  indicating  his  father's  occupation, 
and  there  is  a  coronet  turned  upside  down,  surmoun 
ted  by  a  liberty  cap,  and  supported  by  American  and 


ANDREW  CARNEGIE  103 

Scots  flags.  The  motto  is  "Death  to  Privilege."  To 
radical  minds  there  is  food  for  thought  in  this  strange 
crest  and  its  motto,  for  they  who  cry  death  to  priv 
ilege  often  mean  death  to  ambition,  and  without  am 
bition  the  son  of  the  weaver  would  never  have  be 
come  the  world  benefactor  who  made  himself  able  to 
give  wealth  by  the  hundreds  of  millions  for  the  good 
of  humanity. 

On  the  day  following  his  death,  in  the  summer  of 
1919,  a  great  New  York  newspaper  began  an  account 
of  his  life  with  these  paragraphs,  a  final  tribute  to  an 
American  by  adoption :  — 

"Andrew  Carnegie,  the  outstanding  figure  of  nine 
teenth-century  industrialism,  will  go  down  through 
the  ages  as  the  very  personification  of  '  Triumphant 
Democracy.' 

"Overcoming  almost  insuperable  obstacles  by  his 
unusual  energy  and  sheer  tenacity  of  purpose,  An 
drew  Carnegie  rose  from  a  humble  messenger-boy  to 
wealth  beyond  the  dreams  of  avarice.  He  rose  from 
obscurity  to  a  unique  position  in  the  world. 

"Yet  despite  the  tremendous  effort  put  into  every 
thing  he  undertook,  Andrew  Carnegie's  meteoric  rise 
was  due  entirely  to  the  opportunity  offered  to  all  in  a 
land  of  freedom  and  of  free  speech.  This  fact  he  em 
phasized  in  all  his  writings,  and  in  all  his  speeches. 
Moreover,  it  had  a  profound  effect  upon  the  course  he 
adopted  for  the  administration  of  his  vast  fortune,  for 
the  development  of  mankind,  and  the  furtherance  of 


science." 


VII 
JAMES  J.  HILL 

Born  nearGuelph,  Ontario,  Canada,  1837 
Died  in  St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  1916 

A  HUNDRED  years  ago  Napoleon,  with  the  sword, 
carved  out  of  Europe  an  empire.  To  accomplish  this, 
the  lives  of  men  by  the  thousand  were  sacrificed. 
With  misery  and  bloodshed  its  boundaries  were  ex 
tended,  and  in  a  few  years  it  had  vanished  into  the  his 
tory  of  the  past.  In  like  manner,  for  centuries  have 
men  of  dominance  changed  the  maps  of  the  world, 
with  armies  and  the  sword. 

But  within  the  memory  of  men  who  live  to-day  an 
other  kind  of  empire-builder  gave  to  the  new  world  an 
empire  of  another  kind.  With  peace  and  prosperity, 
year  by  year,  he  developed  its  vast  square  miles  of  ter 
ritory.  With  rails  of  steel  he  pushed  its  boundaries 
each  year  still  further  into  the  wilderness.  Each  year 
he  opened  up  to  the  world  new  acres  of  fertile  fields, 
rich  mines,  and  the  tremendous  natural  resources  of  a 
virgin  country.  It  is  an  empire  that  time  can  never 
destroy.  It  is  an  empire  that  has  brought  prosperity 
to  the  world. 

All  this  was  done  by  a  poor  Canadian  boy,  born  in  a 
log-cabin  at  the  edge  of  the  forest  in  the  Province  of 
Ontario,  in  the  year  1837.  James  Jerome  Hill  was  his 
name. 


Copyright  by  Pack  Brothers 


JAMES  J.  HILL  105 

On  his  mother's  side  the  boy  inherited  the  sturdy 
characteristics  of  Scotch  ancestry;  on  his  father's  side 
he  found  the  brilliance  and  spirit  of  the  Irish  race. 
The  soil  was  the  sole  source  of  their  livelihood.  Born 
in  a  wilderness  where  dark  forests  still  sheltered 
wolves  and  deer,  and  where  the  Indians  still  roamed, 
the  boy,  from  earliest  childhood,  received  impressions 
that  moulded  his  life's  destiny.  He  was  born  to  see 
man  subdue  the  wilderness,  to  see  his  struggle  with 
the  forces  of  primitive  nature,  to  see  his  inevitable  vic 
tory.  As  his  own  father  hewed  his  few  acres  from  the 
forest,  so  in  the  coming  years  was  James  J.  Hill  to  re 
deem  vast  wilderness  territories  and  give  them  to  the 
use  of  man. 

Characteristically,  the  father's  foresight  sought 
more  than  an  ordinary  frontier  education  for  his  eld 
est  son;  and  with  equal  eagerness  the  boy  grasped  at 
the  opportunities  that  were  offered  him.  At  eleven  he 
left  the  little  district  school  where  his  education  had 
begun,  and  entered  an  academy  in  a  near-by  village, 
conducted  by  an  Englishman  of  college  education. 

There  were  no  libraries,  and  in  that  remote  out- 
skirt  of  civilization  newspapers  were  rarely  seen.  But 
a  few  books  in  the  Hill  household  gave  the  growing 
boy  an  insight  into  literature,  and  the  long  hours  of 
out-of-door  labor  which  filled  that  part  of  the  day 
when  he  was  not  at  school  developed  him  physically 
and  gave  him  a  foundation  of  good  health  which  in 
later  years  made  possible  his  tireless  energy. 

When  he  was  fourteen  his  father  died,  and  realizing 
the  responsibilities  which  were  now  resting  on  his 


106         AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

shoulders,  the  boy  gave  up  his  hope  of  a  professional 
career  and  for  four  years  supported  his  mother  and 
her  household  with  such  small  wages  as  he  earned  as 
clerk  in  the  village  store. 

For  several  years,  in  the  imaginative  brain  of  the 
boy  had  grown  the  hope  of  some  day  crossing  the 
Western  plain  and  sailing  across  the  Pacific  to  the 
Orient.  Eagerly  he  had  read  all  he  could  find  that  told 
him  of  those  far  countries.  To  his  imagination  they 
seemed  to  hold  a  definite  promise  of  opportunity.  He 
had  but  little  money;  but  he  had  faith  in  himself  and 
in  his  future.  Each  year  the  longing  grew  until,  when 
he  was  eighteen,  he  could  stand  it  no  more  and  his 
new  life  began. 

Without  money,  friends,  or  influence,  he  crossed  the 
boundary  into  the  United  States,  and  after  visiting 
several  of  the  large  Eastern  cities,  made  his  way  to  St. 
Paul,  then  a  small  town  situated  at  the  head  of  navi 
gable  water  on  the  Mississippi  River.  North  and  west 
the  unbroken  prairie  and  the  forests  were  peopled 
only  by  the  Indians;  buffalo  roamed  the  prairies. 
Only  along  the  navigable  rivers  were  the  cultivated 
farm-lands  of  the  settlers. 

The  young  man  had  no  money;  it  was  necessary  for 
him  to  devote  himself  for  a  time  to  some  profitable  oc 
cupation.  He  was  eighteen  years  old,  but  he  was  will 
ing  to  turn  his  hand  to  any  honest  work,  and  his  vivid 
imagination  inspired  him  to  work  hard  so  that  his 
future  hopes  might  be  realized.  All  of  the  business 
activity  of  St.  Paul  centred  on  the  levees  along  the 
river,  where  merchandise  brought  up  the  Mississippi 


JAMES    J.  HILL  107 

by  boat  was  unloaded  for  shipment  by  ox-teams  to  the 
outlying  settlements. 

Hill  was  attracted  by  this  kind  of  business.  The  po 
sition  of  shipping  clerk  in  the  office  of  the  agents  of 
a  steamboat  company  was  open,  and  he  grasped  it. 
The  work  was  varied :  he  received  incoming  and  out 
going  freight,  ran  the  warehouse,  inspected  its  con 
tents,  kept  an  open  eye  for  new  business,  and  when  la 
bor  was  scarce,  helped  the  men  load  and  unload  the 
steamboats.  On  this  early  experience  was  to  be  built 
the  great  triumph  of  coming  years. 

Not  content  with  performing  well  his  daily  work, 
young  Hill  spent  his  evenings  largely  in  studying  the 
more  technical  and  theoretical  aspects  of  the  trans 
portation  business  and  the  possibilities,  dependent 
upon  adequate  transportation,  of  the  development  of 
the  great  unexplored  Northwest.  Moreover,  he  saved 
his  money,  realizing  that  a  time  would  come  when  his 
savings,  however  small,  might  prove  vital  to  the  grasp 
ing  of  an  opportunity. 

The  year  1864  marks  the  close  of  the  second  period 
of  his  education.  The  great  Civil  War  had  torn  the 
country.  Hill,  eager  to  serve  his  adopted  land,  had 
tried  to  enlist;  but  an  accident  in  childhood  which  had 
resulted  in  the  loss  of  an  eye  made  it  impossible  to 
pass  the  physical  examination.  Although  just  beyond 
his  majority,  the  boy  had  become  a  man  in  more  than 
years.  His  steady  attention  to  his  work  and  the  long 
hours  of  study  had  put  him  into  a  position  from  which 
he  could  now  step  fearlessly  forward.  He  was  a  man 
of  affairs. 


io8          AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

The  practical  business  knowledge  and  the  business 
relationships  which  he  had  formed  made  him  desire  to 
be  more  completely  his  own  master.  It  was  not  that 
he  was  tired  of  clerking;  it  was  rather  that  he  realized 
that  the  time  had  come  to  strike  out  for  himself.  To 
this  resolve  his  young  wife,  Mary  Theresa  Mehegan, 
whom  he  had  married  in  1864,  lent  all  her  power  of 
love  and  encouragement.  A  true  partner  in  all  her 
husband's  plans,  Mrs.  Hill  shared  every  struggle 
along  the  path  of  success. 

The  young  business  man  became  interested  in 
many  things.  Far  to  the  north  was  the  great  Red 
River  country,  and  he  began  to  identify  himself  with 
the  traffic  which  was  carried  on  between  this  territory 
and  St.  Paul.  He  developed  his  warehouse  business; 
he  became  a  dealer  in  salt,  coal,  cement,  and  lime;  he 
transferred  freight,  and,  above  all,  he  studied  the  de 
velopments  of  railroading,  with  a  realization  that  in 
the  freight-car  and  the  locomotive  was  the  secret  of 
the  transportation  of  the  future.  Fuel  particularly  in 
terested  him,  for  he  believed  that,  as  the  railroad  train 
would  supersede  the  steamboat,  so  would  coal  sup 
plant  wood  as  a  motive  power. 

A  year  after  resigning  his  clerkship,  he  entered  into 
the  first  of  the  many  partnerships  which  he  formed 
during  his  life.  His  savings  were  now  an  asset  of  real 
value,  and  the  $2500  which  he  had  put  by  made  the 
partnership  possible.  The  partners  planned  to  do  a 
general  transportation,  commission,  and  storage  busi 
ness,  and  in  1866  he  began  his  enlarged  activities. 

The  following  year  Hill  secured  a  contract  with  the 


JAMES  J.  HILL  109 

St.  Paul  and  Pacific  Railroad  Company  to  supply  it 
with  fuel.  It  was  his  first  real  introduction  to  the  rail 
road  business,  and  on  it  were  based  the  labors  and  suc 
cesses  of  the  coming  years.  The  railroad  in  the  North 
west  was  still  in  its  infancy;  transportation  depended 
largely  on  the  rivers  and  lakes. 

During  the  next  few  years,  Hill  studied  the  trans 
portation  problems  of  the  Northwest  with  constantly 
increasing  faith  in  his  belief  that,  by  means  of  ade 
quate  transportation,  it  was  possible  speedily  to  de 
velop  this  vast  region  for  the  use  of  man.  More  and 
more  the  idea  appealed  to  him.  His  romantic  vision 
led  him  on  in  his  thoughts  far  beyond  the  boundaries 
which  surrounded  the  mental  vision  of  his  fellow  citi 
zens,  and  his  years  of  study  and  varied  business  expe 
rience  enabled  him,  step  by  step,  to  turn  his  dreams 
into  realities. 

Steadily  the  railroads  had  extended  westward  from 
the  Great  Lakes.  The  end  of  the  Mississippi  River 
transportation  was  within  sight.  But  from  St.  Paul  to 
the  rich  lands  of  the  Red  River  only  the  clumsy  carts 
and  the  lake  flatboats  carried  the  merchandise  which 
the  settlers  required.  Present  needs  of  adequate  trans 
portation  were  great;  future  requirements  were  enor 
mous  beyond  comprehension.  Hill  went  into  the  prob 
lem,  and  soon  had  a  regular  line  of  boats,  carts,  and 
steamers  operating  between  St.  Paul  and  Winnipeg. 
The  empire-maker  had  begun  to  build. 

Many  are  the  stories  that  are  told  of  Mr.  Hill 
in  those  early  days.  In  the  heat  of  summer  and  in 
the  blizzards  of  the  northern  winters  he  personally 


no         AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

inspected  and  carried  forward  the  work  which  he  had 
designed.  He  endured  every  kind  of  hardship.  On  his 
steamboats  in  the  open  months,  and  with  sled  and  dog 
train  in  winter,  he  passed  back  and  forth  over  the 
route,  examining  every  local  condition,  studying  the 
soil,  the  climate,  and  the  mineral  deposits  along  the 
way. 

On  one  late  winter  trip,  when  the  bitter  winds  were 
sweeping  across  the  snowy  prairies,  blotting  out  every 
landmark  and  turning  the  country  into  a  vast  white 
sea,  he  started  north  with  dogs  and  sleds,  and  an  In 
dian  guide  for  a  companion.  After  a  few  days  the 
nerve  of  the  Indian  began  to  weaken  and  he  urged 
that  they  turn  back.  Realizing  that  unless  decided 
action  was  promptly  taken  the  Indian  might  be  dan 
gerous,  Hill  ordered  him  to  return,  and  set  out  again 
alone,  camping  by  night  among  the  snow-drifts,  mak 
ing  tea  with  melted  snow,  and  sleeping  wrapped  in  his 
blankets,  with  his  dogs  close  about  him. 

The  first  railroad  actually  to  be  constructed  into 
this  new  territory  was  the  St.  Paul  and  Pacific.  It  re 
ceived  its  charter  in  1858,  under  the  name  of  the  Min 
nesota  &  Pacific  Railroad  Company,  and  was  planned 
to  extend  from  Stillwater,  through  St.  Paul  and  Min 
neapolis,  west  to  Breckenridge.  Immediately  a  craze 
for  railroads  swept  the  Northwest,  and  numbers  of 
companies  were  formed;  but  such  frenzied  specula 
tion  could  end  only  in  disaster,  and  one  by  one  the 
companies  fell  into  bankruptcy. 

With  anxious  eyes  Hill  watched  the  rising  and 
waning  fortunes  of  these  various  railroad  enterprises. 


JAMES  J.  HILL  in 

His  investigation  led  him  to  believe  that  the  St.  Paul 
&  Pacific  offered  the  greatest  possibilities.  For  seven 
teen  long  years  he  worked  hard,  dreamed  his  dreams, 
and  added  to  his  capital.  Then  came  the  opportunity. 
The  St.  Paul  &  Pacific  had  become  a  wrecked  prop 
erty.  In  it  he  saw  the  possibilities  for  which  he  had 
worked  and  saved.  With  a  clear  realization  of  the  tre 
mendous  step  that  he  was  taking,  he  cast  his  entire 
fortune  into  the  balance,  and  with  the  assistance  of 
several  associates  took  over  the  property,  and  with  it 
its  enormous  debt  of  over  $33,000,000.  James  J.  Hill 
at  last  held  control  of  a  railroad. 

He  had  bought  a  property  that  was  bankrupt  and 
was  described  as  "two  streaks  of  rust  reaching  out 
into  the  desert";  but  in  this  bold  beginning  was  the 
germ  of  the  great  railroad  system  which,  under  the 
name  of  the  Great  Northern,  was  to  bring  him  fame 
and  fortune  in  the  years  to  come. 

In  the  six  years  that  followed,  Mr.  Hill  extended  his 
railroad  to  the  Red  River  and  connected  with  the  gov 
ernment  line  from  Winnipeg.  By  this  extension  the 
rich  lands  of  Minnesota  were  opened  to  immigrants, 
and  the  great  wheat-lands  of  the  Northwest  were  con 
nected  with  the  markets  of  the  United  States. 

The  risk  that  he  had  taken  was  justified;  but  to  his 
wife  and  to  the  friends  who  knew  him  it  seemed  less 
great,  for  they  knew  the  character  of  the  man,  and  to 
know  him  was  to  feel  complete  confidence  in  any  ac 
tion  which  he  determined  to  take.  "All  his  life  it  was 
his  custom  to  know  all  the  facts  about  anything  in 
which  he  was  interested,  a  good  deal  earlier  and  a  lit- 


ii2          AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

tie  better  than  anybody  else.  For  twenty  years  he  had 
lived  in  the  country  where  the  situation  had  been  pre 
paring.  For  four  or  five  years  he  had  been  consumed 
with  anxiety  to  get  possession  of  this  property.  He 
alone  fully  understood  its  present  value;  he  alone  con 
ceived  its  future  with  any  degree  of  justness." 

But  now  his  dreams  of  a  greater  empire  began  to  be 
realized.  The  St.  Paul  &  Pacific,  under  his  able  man 
agement,  was  earning  money  and  building  up  a  sur 
plus.  In  1883  Mr.  Hill  extended  it  to  Helena,  Mon 
tana.  And  now  his  belief  in  the  development  of  the 
Northwest  was  more  strongly  confirmed  with  each  new 
step.  His  vision  already  pictured  a  railroad  stretching 
across  the  prairies  and  over  the  tremendous  barrier  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  Pacific  and  the  great  har 
bors  of  Puget  Sound.  This  was  no  impractical  dream, 
but  an  idea  founded  on  fact  and  experience;  it  was  a 
great  constructive  enterprise. 

Ten  years  later,  in  1893,  Mr.  Hill  began  actively  to 
carry  out  his  plan  of  extending  his  railroad  from  Hel 
ena  to  the  coast.  It  is  hard  to  realize  the  tremendous 
difficulties  which  faced  him.  On  the  one  hand,  the 
Rocky  Mountains  seemed  to  block  his  path;  on  the 
other,  a  financial  panic  made  the  obtaining  of  the 
money  necessary  for  the  project  seem  almost  an  im 
possibility.  But  he  was  undismayed;  every  obstacle 
was  overcome,  the  road  was  built,  and  the  empire 
again  extended  its  boundary,  this  time  to  the  blue 
waters  of  the  Pacific. 

Following  the  completion  of  the  Great  Northern,  as 
the  consolidation  of  his  various  railroads  was  now 


JAMES  J.   HILL  113 

called,  to  Puget  Sound,  Mr.  Hill  began  his  struggle  to 
obtain  the  control  of  other  railroads  in  order  to  com 
bine  them  all  into  one  vast  coherent  system.  The 
Northern  Pacific  Railroad  was  the  first  to  be  added, 
and  then  the  Burlington  System  was  secured  and  in 
corporated  into  the  vast  development  of  his  plan. 
Fifty  years  before,  the  penniless  country  boy  had  left 
the  small  village  of  his  birth  to  seek  his  fortune;  and 
now,  after  this  life  of  usefulness,  he  found  himself  able 
to  pay  in  cash  over  $200,000,000  for  the  Northern 
Pacific  Railway  System. 

Mr.  Hill  believed  that  the  tilling  of  the  soil  was  the 
true  basis  of  success;  that  on  the  soil  rested  the  stabil 
ity  of  government,  and  that  from  it  came  the  wealth 
of  the  world.  To  him,  his  vast  systems  of  railroads 
were  the  means  of  opening  to  settlement  regions  of 
arable  land,  and  later,  when  these  lands  had  been  cul 
tivated,  of  connecting  them  with  the  rest  of  the  world 
and  affording  markets  for  their  produce.  To  increase 
population  and  industry  along  a  railroad  was  the  sur 
est  way  of  making  the  railroad  profitable.  He  be 
lieved  that  a  railroad  would  be  rich  or  poor  along  with 
the  farmers  who  cultivated  the  fields  beside  its  tracks. 

In  order  to  help  the  thousands  of  farmers  along  the 
lines  of  his  railroads  to  make  their  farms  more  profit 
able,  Mr.  Hill  bought,  wherever  in  the  world  they 
could  be  best  obtained,  herds  of  the  finest  cattle. 
These  he  bred  on  his  own  farms,  and  many  he  gave 
away  to  the  farmers  for  their  own  breeding.  In  all,  he 
gave  away  more  than  eight  thousand  head  of  cattle 
and  hogs,  and  for  many  years  offered  prizes  for  the 


n4          AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

best  cattle  raised  by  the  farmers.  "We  must  have  bet 
ter  farming,"  he  said.  "We  must  have  more  intelli 
gent  methods.  Experience  has  shown  that  there  is  no 
way  in  which  they  can  do  this  so  well  as  by  raising 
cattle,  pigs,  and  horses,  and  by  dairying." 

As  a  boy  he  had  dreamed  of  the  Orient.  Now  his 
dreams  were  to  be  realized.  From  the  Western  states 
his  trains  came  eastward  heavily  loaded  with  lumber 
from  the  great  forests  of  Oregon  and  Washington. 
To  operate  most  profitably,  it  was  apparent  that  these 
trains  should  not  go  west  empty,  but  filled  with  mer 
chandise.  But  there  were  not  enough  people  in  these 
Western  states  to  consume  the  merchandise  the  trains 
could  carry.  Beyond  the  Pacific,  however,  were  mil 
lions  of  people.  China  and  Japan  needed  many  things. 
Why  should  not  his  railroads  carry  westward  mer 
chandise  for  these  great  markets  of  the  Orient? 

With  characteristic  thoroughness,  Mr.  Hill  sent 
agents  to  China  to  study  the  food-problem,  and  the 
best  way  to  make  a  market  there  for  American  flour. 
They  reported  the  existence  of  a  great  market  for 
flour,  cotton,  and  steel.  To  gain  this  business  was  to 
wage  industrial  warfare  with  Belgium  and  Great 
Britain,  who  had  a  cheap  all-water  route  to  the  Orient 
by  way  of  the  Suez  Canal. 

But  as  his  railroads  extended  only  to  the  Pacific 
shore,  a  great  ocean  still  lay  between  him  and  these 
alluring  markets.  To  solve  this  problem,  Mr.  Hill 
formed,  in  1900,  the  Great  Northern  Steamship  Com 
pany,  and  built  the  Minnesota  and  the  Dakota,  the 
greatest  vessels  ever  built  flying  the  American  flag,  to 


JAMES  J.  HILL  115 

run  between  Seattle  and  Yokohama  and  Hong  Kong. 
But  in  this  great  venture,  with  its  promise  of  success, 
Mr.  Hill  encountered  disappointment,  for  the  policy 
of  the  United  States  was  unfavorable,  rates  and  regu 
lations  made  the  cost  of  the  operation  of  the  ships  ex 
cessive,  and  he  was  at  last  forced  by  circumstances  to 
withdraw  from  the  Oriental  field. 

Meanwhile,  the  vast  empire  of  the  Northwest  was 
rapidly  filling  up  with  settlers.  In  a  single  year  eight 
een  thousand  farmers  located  along  the  Great  North 
ern,  and  each  year,  farther  and  farther  back  from  the 
tracks,  new  lands  were  developed  and  new  homes 
were  located  where  only  a  few  years  before  the  buff alo 
and  the  Indians  had  wandered.  Next  after  the  rail 
road,  it  was  the  farm  which  held  the  closest  interest  of 
the  empire-builder. 

Second  only  to  Mr.  Hill's  belief  in  the  farm  as  the 
foundation  of  national  prosperity  was  his  interest  in 
the  discovery  and  development  of  new  sources  of  min 
eral  wealth.  As  a  young  man  he  had  recognized  the 
tremendous  part  which  coal  was  to  play  in  the  history 
of  transportation  and  the  consequent  development  of 
the  country.  For  years  he  had  studied  the  coal  de 
posits  of  the  Northwest,  and  there  was  probably  no 
one  better  informed  than  he  regarding  their  quality, 
extent,  and  location. 

In  like  manner  he  had  investigated  the  general  facts 
regarding  the  world's  supply  of  iron  ore.  At  this  time, 
however,  there  were  no  known  deposits  of  iron  ore  in 
the  Northwest,  Then  came  rumors  of  the  discovery  of 
iron  deposits  in  northern  Minnesota.  But  now  Mr. 


n6          AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

Hill's  two  oldest  sons  were  taking  an  active  interest 
in  the  vast  operations  of  their  father.  Like  him,  they 
had  traveled  extensively,  not  only  over  the  territory 
reached  by  his  railroads,  but  also  over  the  still  unde 
veloped  lands,  particularly  in  northern  Minnesota. 

In  this  way  the  two  younger  men  became  convinced 
of  the  wealth  of  iron  ore  which  awaited  only  proper 
development  and  railroad  connections  to  yield  an 
enormous  profit.  Mr.  Hill  saw  also  the  great  opportu 
nity  that  presented  itself,  and  in  1899  personally  pur 
chased,  for  $4,050,000,  a  great  tract  of  land  on  the 
now  famous  Mesabi  Range.  Immediately,  railroad 
connections  with  the  iron  country  were  constructed, 
and  arrangements  for  the  shipment  of  the  ore  over  the 
Great  Northern  were  made.  But  although  this  was  in 
every  respect  a  private  venture,  practically  discovered 
and  entirely  paid  for  by  Mr.  Hill  out  of  his  own  pocket, 
his  high  sense  of  honor  and  responsibility  refused  to 
accept  the  enormous  profits  which  were  soon  to  be 
realized.  Believing  that  the  stockholders  of  the  Great 
Northern,  who  with  their  money  had  stood  behind 
him  and  had  in  a  measure  made  this  new  develop 
ment  possible,  were  entitled  to  a  share  in  the  profits, 
he  organized  this  new  mining  project,  and  distributed 
its  stock,  share  for  share,  among  them  in  proportion 
to  their  investment  in  the  railroad.  His  refusal  to  take 
the  entire  profit  is  a  fine  example  of  the  high  principles 
which  guided  his  every  act  and  were  in  large  measure 
responsible  for  his  success. 

Throughout  his  life,  Mr.  Hill  believed  that  the  suc 
cess  of  men  and  nations  rests  entirely  on  the  truest 


JAMES  J.  HILL  117 

personal  liberty.  To  him  the  man  was  always  bigger 
than  the  state.  Personal  initiative  and  effort  came 
first;  what  man  individually  could  not  accomplish, 
that  the  state  must  do;  but  never  should  the  state  as 
sume  the  development  or  operation  of  a  project  un 
til  it  was  recognized  that  an  individual  or  a  group  of 
individuals  could  not  better  accomplish  the  desired 
result. 

The  forest,  the  farm,  and  the  mines,  were  in  his  be 
lief  the  three  sources  of  wealth.  But  wealth  could 
come  only  from  universal  industry,  honesty,  thrift, 
and  fair  dealing  among  men.  In  his  own  dealings  with 
his  fellow  men,  he  required  those  qualities;  and,  al 
though  his  keen  sympathies  invariably  responded 
to  true  distress,  he  had  scant  patience  with  those 
whose  false  vision  saw  in  wealth  honestly  acquired  a 
fund  to  be  drawn  upon  for  the  support  of  the  lazy  and 
shiftless. 

He  once  said:  "There  are  four  great  words  that 
should  be  written  upon  the  four  corner-stones  of  every 
public  building  in  the  country,  with  the  sacredness  of 
a  religious  rite.  These  watchwards  of  the  Republic  are 
Equality,  Simplicity,  Economy,  and  Justice."  And  an 
other  time  he  said,  when  speaking  of  a  profit-sharing 
arrangement  he  had  made  with  his  employees :  "  I  am 
as  well  satisfied  with  that  institution  as  with  anything 
I  have  ever  had  to  do  with.  I  think  that  its  greatest 
value  is  teaching  the  men  to  save.  The  first  two  or 
three  hundred  dollars  is  the  hardest  to  save,  but 
when  once  you  have  started,  you  all  know  it  comes 
easy." 


n8          AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

Long  before  his  death  Mr.  Hill's  name  had  become 
known  throughout  the  civilized  world.  "His  fame 
was  international.  His  services  were  cosmopolitan." 
Among  the  many  honors  which  were  heaped  upon 
him  in  recognition  of  his  services  to  mankind  was  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  by  Yale  University.  In  con 
ferring  this  degree,  Professor  Perrin,  of  Yale,  said :  — 

"Mr.  Hill  is  the  last  of  the  generations  of  wilderness 
conquerors,  the  men  who  interpreted  the  Constitu 
tion,  fixed  our  foreign  relations,  framed  the  Monroe 
Doctrine,  and  blazed  all  the  great  trails  which  deter 
mined  the  nation's  future.  He  has  always  been  an  orig 
inal  investigator,  and  we  know  him  now  as  a  man  of 
infinite  information.  Every  item  of  his  colossal  suc 
cess  rests  upon  a  series  of  facts  ascertained  by  him 
before  they  had  been  noted  by  others,  and  upon  the 
future  relations  which  he  saw  in  those  facts  to  human 
need  and  national  growth.  He  believes  that  no  society 
can  prosper  in  which  intellectual  training  is  not  based 
upon  moral  and  religious  culture.  He  is  a  national 
economist  on  broad  ethical  and  religious  lines;  but  the 
greatest  things  in  all  his  greatness  are  his  belief  in  the 
spiritual  significance  of  man  and  his  longing  for  the 
perpetuation  of  American  institutions  at  their  highest 
and  best." 

His  interest  in  books  as  a  source  of  education  found 
expression  in  the  great  public  library  which  he  pre 
sented  to  the  city  of  St.  Paul.  To  him,  the  trained 
mind  was  a  necessity  for  success.  Whether  trained  in 
the  university  or  in  the  active  life  of  the  world  did  not 
matter,  so  long  as  it  was  trained;  that  was  all  that 
concerned  him. 


JAMES  J.   HILL  119 

Mr.  Hill's  reputation  in  years  to  come  will  rest 
chiefly  on  his  career  as  an  "  Empire-Builder."  But  he 
was  primarily  a  railroad  manager  and  a  railroad  engi 
neer.  His  knowledge  of  the  great  business  of  trans 
portation  made  it  possible  for  him  to  extend  his  inter 
ests  far  and  wide;  no  opportunity  came  near  him  that 
he  did  not  investigate,  and  no  opportunity  which  he 
accepted  was  ever  put  aside  until  he  had  developed  it 
to  its  most  perfect  completion. 

PhysicaMy,  he  was  a  man  who  seemed  to  express  in 
his  appearance  the  force  and  character  which  distin 
guished  him  mentally  among  men.  Slightly  under 
average  height,  with  a  great  head  firmly  set  on  square, 
powerful  shoulders,  he  commanded  attention.  He 
was  physically  strong,  and  his  powers  of  endurance, 
which  served  him  so  well  in  the  long  hard  days  of  his 
early  life,  remained  unimpaired  almost  to  his  death. 
His  firm  mouth  was  half  hidden  by  a  beard,  whitened 
in  his  latter  years.  His  brow  was  high.  His  eyes  were 
alert  and  looked  out  from  beneath  shaggy  eyebrows. 
He  was  a  man  of  a  notable  appearance  which  de 
manded  respect  and  inspired  confidence. 

"Work,  hard  work,  intelligent  work,  and  then  some 
more  work,"  was  one  of  his  frequent  explanations  of 
his  success,  and  his  advice  to  others.  To  young  men 
he  said:  "The  best  advice  to  a  young  man,  as  it  ap 
pears  to  me,  is  old  and  simple.  Get  knowledge  and 
understanding.  Determine  to  make  the  most  possi 
ble  of  yourself  by  doing  to  the  best  of  your  power  use 
ful  work  as  it  comes  your  way.  There  are  no  receipts 
for  success  in  life.  A  good  aim,  diligence  in  learning 


120          AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

every  detail  of  your  business,  honest  hard  work,  and  a 
determination  to  succeed,  win  out  every  time,  unless 
crossed  by  some  exceptional  accident  or  misfortune. 
Many  opportunities  come  to  every  man.  It  depends 
upon  himself,  and  upon  what  he  shall  make  of  himself, 
what  he  makes  of  opportunities  and  what  they  will 
make  of  him." 

From  a  poor  farmer  boy,  in  fifty  years,  James  J. 
Hill,  by  the  force  of  his  own  determination,  and  the  op 
portunities  common  to  all  men  in  the  great  Republic  of 
which  he  became  a  citizen,  achieved  a  position  among 
the  world-leaders  of  his  day.  Wealth  in  millions  came 
to  him,  not  by  inheritance  or  a  stroke  of  speculative 
chance,  but  from  the  works  which  he  himself  had  con 
ceived  and  created.  The  achievements  of  his  life  will 
long  be  remembered,  not  only  because  of  their  public 
service,  but  because  of  their  inspiration  to  other  men 
by  affording  an  example  of  the  heights  which  may  be 
reached  by  hard  work,  imagination,,  and  determina 
tion  to  succeed. 


VIII 
AUGUSTUS  SAINT-GAUDENS 

Born  in  Dublin,  Ireland,  1848 

Died  in  Cornish,  New  Hampshire,  1907 

IN  a  little  house  in  Dublin,  Ireland,  on  March  i,  1848, 
was  born  Augustus  Saint-Gaudens.  There  was  noth 
ing  in  the  humble  surroundings  which  first  greeted  his 
eyes  to  mark  the  baby  as  in  any  way  different  from 
the  many  other  babies  who  may  have  been  born  on 
the  same  first  day  of  March  in  the  ancient  Irish  city. 
Augustus  Saint-Gaudens,  however,  inherited  from 
,  his  father  and  mother  something  far  greater  than 
wealth  or  name,  for  in  their  sturdy,  honest  blood 
he  found  that  indefinable  thing  called  "character," 
which,  throughout  his  life,  led  him  steadily  forward 
along  the  straight  path  to  fame  and  honor.  From  his 
parents  he  also  inherited  the  qualities  which  are  in 
herent  in  a  romantic  people;  for  his  father  was  born  in 
France,  in  the  little  village  of  Aspet  at  the  foot  of  the 
Pyrenees,  and  his  mother,  whose  maiden  name  was 
Mary  McGuiness,  gave  him  the  love  of  the  beautiful 
which  belongs  to  Ireland.  But  perhaps,  after  all,  his 
parents  gave  him  a  like  inheritance,  for  Ireland  is  an 
old  nation  into  which  in  centuries  past  has  been  in 
fused  the  blood  of  the  proudest  families  of  France  — 
Irish  by  birth  and  French  by  inheritance,  he  might  be 
called. 


122          AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

The  elder  Saint-Gaudens  was  a  shoemaker,  and  he 
had  met  the  mother  of  the  future  Augustus  in  the 
shoe  store  for  which  he  made  shoes  and  where  she  did 
the  binding  of  slippers.  When  Augustus  was  but  a 
few  months  old  his  parents  emigrated  to  the  United 
States  and  in  the  month  of  September  in  the  year 
of  his  birth  he  landed  in  the  city  of  Boston,  a  place 
which  in  later  years  became  deeply  identified  with  his 
activities. 

From  Boston  the  little  family  proceeded  to  New 
York,  where  Bernard  Saint-Gaudens,  the  father,  set 
up  his  small  business  and  secured  humble  lodging 
nearby  for  his  family.  And  here  the  young  Augustus 
made  the  beginning  of  his  conscious  life,  in  which, 
of  early  memories,  most  vivid  were  the  "  delightful 
reminiscences  of  the  smell  of  cake  in  the  bakery  at 
the  corner  of  the  street,  and  of  the  stewed  peaches  of 
the  German  family  in  the  same  house." 

Above  the  door  of  the  shop  hung  the  sign  "  French 
Ladies'  Boots  and  Shoes";  and  within,  the  shoemaker, 
with  his  "wonderfully  complex  mixture  of  French 
accent  and  Irish  brogue,"  varied  his  occupation  of 
making  shoes  with  endless  duties  which  he  undertook 
as  the  organizer  and  leading  figure  in  several  socie 
ties  which  flourished  in  the  French  colony  of  the  city. 
Customers  came  readily  to  the  little  shop,  for  its 
proprietor  was  an  able  workman,  despite  certain 
agreeable  eccentricities,  and  the  business,  growing 
steadily,  provided  an  adequate,  if  simple,  upbringing 
for  Augustus  and  his  two  brothers. 

Many  are  the  memories  of  those  early  days,  mem- 


Copyright,  1915.  by  de  W.  C.  Ward 


AUGUSTUS  SAINT-GAUDENS         123 

ories  of  a  wholesome  and  normal  boyhood.  There  are 
memories  of  fires,  of  street-fights  with  boys  of  other 
neighborhoods,  of  school-days,  of  a  never-to-be-for 
gotten  excursion  to  the  country,  of  the  delight  of  his 
first  reading  of  "  Robinson  Crusoe,"  and  of  the  famous 
actress  Rachel  playing  "Virginia"  in  Niblo's  Garden. 
And  there  are  memories  of  boyhood  loves,  memories 
all  that  "pass  across  the  field  of  my  vision  like  ships 
that  appear  through  the  mist  for  a  moment  and  dis 
appear." 

With  the  early  end  of  his  school  days  Augustus 
turned  to  the  actual  earning  of  his  daily  bread.  He 
was  thirteen  years  old.  To  his  father's  question  as  to 
what  kind  of  work  appealed  most  strongly  to  him  he 
had  answered,  "I  should  like  it  if  I  could  do  some 
thing  which  would  help  me  to  be  an  artist."  It  was  a 
decision  that  must  have  seemed  strange  to  the  father, 
who  perhaps  had  seen  in  the  boy  a  possible  assistant 
in  his  growing  business;  but  wisely  he  respected  the 
desire  that  Augustus  expressed,  and  a  few  weeks  later 
the  boy  was  apprenticed  to  a  Frenchman  named  Avet, 
the  first  stone-cameo  cutter  in  America. 

A  cameo  is  a  fine  relief  of  a  human  head,  or  the  head 
of  an  animal,  cut  in  a  stone  or  shell,  often  so  done  as  to 
show  the  design  in  a  layer  of  one  color  with  another 
color  as  a  background.  The  stones,  which  were  usu 
ally  amethysts  or  malachite,  were  at  that  period  ex 
tremely  fashionable,  and  were  worn  in  rings,  or  scarf- 
pins,  or  breast-pins  by  men  and  women.  The  work  was 
fine  and  required  skill  and  patience  and  artistic  abil 
ity;  so  for  a  long  time  Augustus  was  limited  to  the 


124          AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

preparation  of  the  stones,  which  Avet  would  finish 
and  later  sell  to  the  leading  jewelers  of  the  city. 

Avet  was  a  hard  taskmaster  and  the  monotonous 
labor  over  the  whirring  lathe  was  irksome  to  the  red- 
blooded  boy,  who  looked  up  from  the  spinning-wheel 
at  the  white  clouds  sailing  across  the  little  window 
above  him  and  heard  the  rumble  of  wheels  and  the 
hum  of  life  in  the  distant  street.  But  in  his  few  hours 
of  leisure  there  were  glimpses  of  stirring  events  never 
to  be  forgotten.  There  was  the  excitement  attending 
the  election  of  Abraham  Lincoln  to  the  Presidency, 
"Honest  Abe,  the  Rail-Splitter."  There  was  the  re 
cruiting  of  troops  for  the  great  Civil  War  which  for 
four  long  years  racked  the  land.  And  later,  from  the 
window  in  front  of  his  lathe,  Saint-Gaudens  watched 
the  volunteers  from  New  England  as  they  tramped 
down  Broadway,  singing  "John  Brown's  Body"  as 
they  marched. 

Day  after  day  Saint-Gaudens  ground  and  turned 
the  stones  on  his  lathe,  and  all  day  long  he  listened  to 
the  voice  of  Avet,  scolding  and  swearing  as  he  worked. 
One  day  came  the  breaking-point.  At  noon  the  boy 
had  quietly  eaten  his  luncheon  from  the  little  box 
which  he  brought  each  morning  with  him  to  his  work. 
Some  crumbs  had  fallen  on  the  floor,  and  Avet,  seeing 
them,  burst  into  a  fury  and  discharged  him  on  the 
spot.  Without  comment  he  folded  up  his  overalls,  left 
the  shop,  and  going  at  once  to  his  father's  store,  ex 
plained  exactly  what  had  occurred.  Within  a  few 
minutes  Avet  followed,  apologetic  and  promising- 
even  more  money  if  the  boy  would  return.  Without 


AUGUSTUS  SAINT-GAUDENS         125 

hesitation  Saint-Gaudens  refused,  and  in  later  life  he 
often  recalled  his  father's  "proud  smile"  as  he  made 
his  decision. 

There  is  credit  in  sticking  to  a  hard  job,  and  there 
is  equal  credit  in  a  manly  refusal  to  continue  to  work 
under  intolerable  conditions.  Saint-Gaudens's  act 
brought  its  own  reward,  for  his  next  employer,  Mr. 
Jules  le  Brethon,  a  shell-cameo  cutter,  was  a  man 
unlike  Avet  in  every  particular,  and  it  was  through 
this  new  connection  that  the  path  to  Saint-Gaudens's 
career  as  a  sculptor  was  opened  to  him. 

With  his  characteristic  foresight  in  availing  himself 
of  every  opportunity,  the  boy  had  early  begun  to  de 
vote  his  evenings  to  the  study  of  drawing  in  the  free 
classes  at  the  Cooper  Institute.  Every  day  at  six  he 
left  his  work,  and  after  a  hurried  supper,  hastened  to 
his  classroom.  He  was  appreciative  of  the  great  op 
portunity  which  the  school  afforded  him,  and  he  threw 
himself  with  all  his  soul  into  his  work.  "I  became  a 
terrific  worker,  toiling  every  night  until  eleven  o'clock 
after  the  class  was  over.  Indeed,  I  became  so  ex 
hausted  with  the  confining  work  of  cameo-cutting  by 
day  and  drawing  at  night,  that  in  the  morning  mother 
literally  dragged  me  out  of  bed,  pushed  me  over  to  the 
washstand,  where  I  gave  myself  a  cat's  lick  somehow 
or  other,  drove  me  to  the  seat  at  the  table,  adminis 
tered  my  breakfast,  and  tumbled  me  downstairs  out 
into  the  street,  where  I  awoke." 

When  the  courses  at  the  Cooper  Union  were  finally 
accomplished,  Saint-Gaudens  took  up  new  night  work 
at  the  National  Academy  of  Design,  and  it  was  here 


126          AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

that  his  first  appreciation  of  the  antique  came  to  him, 
and  his  first  practice  in  drawing  from  the  nude  — 
training  so  fundamental  for  his  great  work  in  coming 
years. 

Early  in  the  year  1867  came  another  turning-point 
in  his  life.  Ever  since  he  had  first  begun  to  work, 
Saint-Gaudens  had  been  giving  his  wages  to  his  father 
to  pay  his  share  of  the  family  expenses.  And  now  the 
father,  realising  that  the  boy's  earnestness  and  ability 
were  deserving  of  every  opportunity  which  he  could 
afford,  made  the  offer  of  a  trip  to  Europe,  where  he 
might  see  the  art  of  the  older  civilizations  and  return 
to  the  United  States  broadened  by  his  experience  and 
observations. 

Saint-Gaudens  was  nineteen  years  old.  His  father 
had  paid  for  his  passage  in  the  .steerage,  and  in  his 
pocket  were  a  hundred  dollars  which  had  been  saved 
out  of  his  wages.  Arriving  in  Paris  in  a  "mixed  state 
of  enthusiasm  and  collapse,"  he  spent  a  few  days  vis 
iting  in  the  household  of  an  uncle,  and  then  began  his 
search  of  employment  at  cameo-cutting  and  of  admis 
sion  to  the  School  of  Fine  Arts.  Work  was  soon  found 
in  the  establishment  of  an  Italian.  But  entrance  to 
the  school  was  a  more  difficult  proposition,  and  in  or 
der  that  no  time  should  be  wasted  while  he  was  wait 
ing,  he  enrolled  in  a  modeling  school,  working  there 
mornings  and  nights  and  supporting  himself  on  what 
he  earned  at  cameo-cutting  in  the  afternoon. 

These  were  days  and  nights  of  almost  superhuman 
exertion,  but  at  the  end  of  a  year  the  desired  admis 
sion  to  the  school  was  obtained,  and  his  real  educa- 


AUGUSTUS  SAINT-GAUDENS         127 

tion  began.  It  is  customary  for  a  student  at  the 
Beaux-Arts  to  select  the  master  in  whose  atelier  he 
wishes  to  study,  and  Saint-Gaudens  selected  Jouffroy, 
whose  pupils  in  the  preceding  years  had  been  particu 
larly  successful  in  capturing  most  of  the  prizes  which 
were  offered  by  the  school. 

Here  Saint-Gaudens  formed  several  friendships 
which  endured  throughout  his  life,  and  here  also  he 
began  to  mingle  more  widely  with  the  men  in  the 
great  world  about  him,  although  his  time  was  far  too 
occupied  for  more  than  an  occasional  hour  or  two  of 
relaxation.  "My  ambition  was  of  such  a  soaring  na 
ture,  and  I  was  so  tremendously  austere,  that  I  had 
the  deepest  scorn  of  the  ordinary  amusements  of  the 
light  opera,  balls  and  what  not."  And  yet,  when  he 
did  play,  his  play  was  of  the  hardest.  He  was  active 
beyond  measure,  and  it  is  doubtless  to  the  hours  of 
hard  physical  exercise  which  he  got  at  night  in  the 
gymnasium  and  the  swimming-baths,  that  he  owed 
the  health  which  gave  him  the  endurance  necessary 
for  his  long  hours  in  the  classroom.  Occasionally, 
walking  trips,  with  one  or  two  companions,  gave  well- 
deserved  vacations  —  trips  from  which  the  walkers 
returned  tired  and  penniless,  but  inspired  by  the 
beauty  of  nature  in  the  pleasant  French  countryside 
and  thrilled  with  the  stupendous  grandeur  of  the 
Alpine  scenery. 

But  now,  in  the  year  1870,  the  dark  clouds  of  the 
Franco-Prussian  War  suddenly  gathered.  War  was 
declared.  The  streets  of  Paris  were  congested  with 
shouting,  marching  crowds.  The  enlistment  places 


128          AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

were  filled  with  men  joining  the  colors.  To  the  young 
American  the  problem  of  his  own  line  of  action  seemed 
difficult  to  decide.  Everything  within  him  urged  him 
to  enlist  under  the  flag  of  France.  But  he  was  a  cit 
izen  of  another  land,  and  aged  parents  awaited  his 
return.  He  decided  to  withhold  his  decision.  Once,  in 
deed,  he  returned  to  Paris  from  Limoges  fixed  in  his 
purpose  to  join  his  French  companions;  but  there 
he  found  a  letter  from  his  mother,  so  pathetic  that 
he  reluctantly  abandoned  his  intention,  returned  to 
Limoges,  and  a  few  months  later  started  for  Rome. 

After  the  cold,  gray  months  of  a  Paris  winter,  and 
the  misery  and  suffering  of  the  war,  the  glowing 
warmth  and  beauty  of  the  Holy  City  exhilarated  and 
exalted  him.  "It  was  as  if  a  door  had  been  thrown 
wide  open  to  the  eternal  beauty  of  the  classical." 
Here,  living  almost  in  poverty,  he  continued  the  work 
so  well  begun  in  Paris.  Here,  also,  he  began  the 
statue  of  Hiawatha,  "pondering,  musing  in  the  forest, 
on  the  welfare  of  his  people" — the  first  of  the  long 
list  of  world-recognized  masterpieces  which  the  stren 
uous  labor  of  his  life  produced.  So  poor,  indeed,  was 
Saint-Gaudens  at  this  time,  that  it  was  only  through 
the  kindness  of  an  American,  who  advanced  him  the 
money  to  cast  the  figure,  that  he  was  able  to  complete 
the  work.  For  this  same  gentleman  Saint-Gaudens 
modeled  busts  of  his  two  daughters,  and  through  him 
he  also  received  a  commission  for  copies  of  the  busts  of 
Demosthenes  and  Cicero. 

In  Rome  Saint-Gaudens  also  first  made  the  ac 
quaintance  of  Dr.  Henry  Shiff,  a  comrade  whose 


AUGUSTUS  SAINT-GAUDENS         129 

friendship  lasted  throughout  his  life.  ShifF  was  con 
siderably  the  senior  of  Saint-Gaudens,  but  his  deep 
appreciation  of  art  and  literature,  and  his  frank, 
friendly  nature  endeared  him  to  the  young  and  strug 
gling  sculptor,  and  gave  him  the  inspiration  that  is  al 
ways  found  in  the  true  appreciation  of  a  loyal  friend. 

In  1872  Saint-Gaudens  returned  to  New  York;  but 
his  stay  was  brief,  for  he  was  eager  to  return  to  Italy 
for  a  few  years  more  before  definitely  establishing 
himself  in  the  United  States.  While  in  New  York, 
much  work  was  accomplished,  but  little  of  it  should 
be  included  in  a  list  of  his  works,  for  in  the  main  it 
consisted  of  jobs  of  one  sort  or  another  necessary  to 
earn  the  money  which  his  living  required.  Here, 
however,  he  began  his  bust  of  Senator  William  M. 
Evarts,  one  of  the  foremost  orators  in  the  United 
States,  and,  during  the  years  1877  to  1881,  Secretary 
of  State  in  the  administration  of  President  Hayes. 
Then,  also,  he  received  a  number  of  other  commis 
sions  for  busts  and,  of  particular  importance,  a  com 
mission  for  a  figure  of  Silence  to  be  placed  in  a  Masonic 
building  in  New  York.  It  was  a  sudden  and  bewil 
dering  amount  of  work  for  the  young  sculptor,  and  it 
brought  vividly  to  him,  after  his  struggling  years  of 
poverty  in  Europe,  a  realization  of  the  appreciation 
and  reward  which  the  United  States  so  freely  offered. 

In  1875  Augustus  Saint-Gaudens  returned  again  to 
the  United  States,  but  this  time  to  take  his  place  as  a 
full-fledged  sculptor.  Behind  him  were  years  of  hard 
but  fruitful  experience.  From  the  long  period  at 
which  he  had  worked  at  his  cameo-cutting  he  had 

10 


130          AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

developed  a  keen  eye  and  a  sure  hand  with  his  tools. 
From  Paris  and  Rome  he  had  obtained  the  practice 
which  he  required  in  actual  work  from  the  human  fig 
ure,  and  from  Rome  in  particular  he  had  learned 
"what  to  leave  untouched"  and  had  acquired  "an 
ability  to  choose  his  subjects  from  among  the  import 
ant  figures  of  the  moment,  and  then  to  give  his  best 
efforts  to  transforming  them  into  vital  and  eternal 
symbols." 

On  his  arrival  in  New  York  he  rented  a  small  stu 
dio  in  an  old  building,  and  was  soon  intensively  occu 
pied  in  a  life  in  which  modeling,  teaching,  and  study 
ing  filled  the  long  hours,  and  carried  on  often  far  into 
the  night.  Dark  and  depressing  seemed  the  New 
York  winter  after  the  warmth  and  color  of  Italy;  and 
to  bring  back  more  vividly  the  memory  of  the  tink 
ling,  splashing  fountains  that  played  in  the  Roman 
sunshine,  he  would  turn  on  the  water  in  the  little 
wash-basin  in  his  studio  and  let  the  gentle  sound 
carry  his  thoughts  back  to  the  gardens  of  Rome. 

But  now  came  two  commissions  which  left  no  op 
portunity  for  thoughts  of  anything  but  the  work  in 
hand.  From  Governor  Dix  of  New  York  came  a  com 
mission  for  a  statue  of  Robert  Richard  Randall,  a 
wealthy  citizen  of  New  York  City  in  the  early  years  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  who  had  left  his  fortune  for 
the  founding  of  the  Sailors'  Snug  Harbor,  on  Staten 
Island,  a  home  for  aged  deep-sea  sailormen.  At  the 
same  time  he  obtained  a  commission  for  the  statue  of 
Admiral  David  G.  Farragut,  —  the  first  Admiral  of 
the  United  States  Navy,  and  the  hero  of  Mobile  Bay, 


AUGUSTUS  SAINT-GAUDENS          131 

—  which  stands  in  Madison  Square,  New  York.  The 
importance  of  these  commissions  did  much  to  raise 
the  spirits  and  fire  the  ambition  of  Saint-Gaudens, 
and  at  the  same  time  the  constantly  increasing  friend 
ships  which  he  was  forming  helped  him  to  find  the 
happiness  of  congenial  comradeship  which  his  nature 
sought.  "There is  no  doubt,"  he  has  written,  "that 
my  intimacy  with  John  LaFarge  has  been  a  spur  to 
higher  endeavor";  and  there  were  others  who  gave 
him  similar  inspiration  by  their  warm  appreciation 
of  his  ambitions. 

It  was  in  the  year  1877  that  Saint-Gaudens  took  a 
principal  part  in  the  founding  of  the  Society  of  Amer 
ican  Artists.  The  establishment  of  this  society  was  an 
important  milestone  in  the  progress  of  American  art, 
for  with  it  came  a  vital  change  in  American  painting 
and  sculpture.  Previously,  art  in  the  United  States 
had  been  more  or  less  burdened  with  conventions  and 
a  dull  technique.  But  this  stagnant  state  now  be 
came  stirred  and  freshened  by  the  flood  of  a  new  gen 
eration  of  artists.  Such  men  as  Saint-Gaudens,  East 
man  Johnson,  John  LaFarge,  Winslow  Homer,  and 
John  S.  Sargent  began  to  remonstrate  against  the 
things  that  were.  These  men  and  their  fellows  had 
felt  abroad  the  new  movement  in  artistic  apprecia 
tion.  It  was  their  desire  to  give  to  America  this  new 
and  virile  expression,  and  in  spite  of  the  opposition 
of  the  conservatists  of  the  established  school,  —  the 
"old-timers," — the  new  society  received  a  welcome 
and  became  a  constantly  increasing  factor  and  force 
in  the  development  of  American  art. 


132          AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

A  year  was  now  spent  in  the  modeling  of  a  high 
bas-relief  depicting  the  "Adoration  of  the  Cross  by 
Angels,"  which  was  to  form  the  principal  part  of 
the  interior  decorations  of  St.  Thomas's  Church  in 
New  York,  which  were  being  designed  by  Mr.  John 
LaFarge.  This  was  important  work  and  added 
greatly  to  Saint-Gaudens's  reputation;  but  only  the 
memory  of  its  beauty  remains,  for  the  church  was 
later  destroyed  by  fire. 

In  1878  Saint-Gaudens  again  visited  Paris,  but  this 
time  his  work  and  study  held  him  there  for  three 
years.  In  a  quiet  studio  which  he  hired  in  the  Rue 
Notre  Dame  des  Champs,  work  was  begun  on  the 
Farragut  statue,  and  also  on  a  series  of  figures  which 
were  designed  to  ornament  a  mausoleum  which  Gov 
ernor  Morgan  of  Connecticut  had  commissioned  him 
to  execute.  It  is  a  strange  coincidence  that  the  angels 
for  the  Morgan  tomb  were  later  destroyed  by  fire,  as 
were  the  angels  of  St.  Thomas's  Church. 

"In  the  years  I  passed  this  time  in  Paris  there  was 
little  of  the  adventurous  swing  of  life  that  pervaded 
my  previous  struggles."  Work  on  his  commissions  al 
most  wholly  occupied  him.  There  were,  however,  oc 
casional  excursions,  and  the  presence  of  two  friends, 
Stanford  White  and  McKim,  who  were  already  win 
ning  their  reputation  as  brilliant  New  York  architects, 
did  much  to  break  the  tedium  of  his  work. 

The  Farragut  statue  was  finally  completed,  and  on 
the  afternoon  of  a  beautiful  day  in  May,  1881,  it  was 
unveiled  to  the  eyes  of  the  public.  In  his  "Remi 
niscences"  Saint-Gaudens  described  this  memorable 


AUGUSTUS  SAINT-GAUDENS          133 

occasion :  "  These  formal  unveilings  of  monuments  are 
impressive  affairs  and  variations  from  the  toughness 
that  pervades  a  sculptor's  life.  For  we  constantly 
deal  with  practical  problems,  with  moulders,  con 
tractors,  derricks,  stone-men,  ropes,  builders,  scaf 
foldings,  marble  assistants,  bronze-men,  trucks,  rub 
bish-men,  plasterers,  and  what-not  else,  all  the  while 
trying  to  soar  into  the  blue.  —  But  if  managed  intel 
ligently  there  is  a  swing  to  unveilings,  and  the  moment 
when  the  veil  drops  from  the  monument  certainly 
makes  up  for  many  of  the  woes  that  go  towards  the 
creating  of  the  work.  On  this  special  occasion  Mr. 
Joseph  H.  Choate  delivered  the  oration.  The  sailors 
who  assisted  added  to  the  picturesqueness  of  the  pro 
cession.  The  artillery  placed  in  the  park,  back  of  the 
statue,  was  discharged.  And  when  the  figure  in  the 
shadow  stood  unveiled,  and  the  smoke  rolled  up  into 
the  sunlight  upon  the  buildings  behind  it,  the  sight 
gave  an  impression  of  dignity  and  beauty  that  it  would 
take  a  rare  pen  to  describe." 

During  the  year  1877  Saint-Gaudens  was  married 
to  Augusta  F.  Homer  of  Boston.  Recognition  had 
come  to  his  work;  his  professional  future  seemed  as 
sured.  Now,  by  this  happy  marriage,  domestic  tran 
quillity  and  congenial  companionship  were  added. 

On  his  return  from  Europe  Saint-Gaudens  took  a 
studio  on  Thirty-Sixth  Street  in  New  York,  and  here 
were  begun  the  Sunday  afternoon  concerts  which  soon 
became  celebrated  because  of  the  literary  men  and  ar 
tists  who  gathered  there,  and  invitations  were  eagerly 
sought  and  highly  prized.  But  in  1885  Saint-Gaudens 


134          AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

moved  from  the  city  and  established  his  family  in  an 
old  Colonial  house  at  Cornish,  New  Hampshire.  "I 
had  been  a  boy  of  the  streets  and  sidewalks  all  my 
life,"  he  says,  "but  during  this  first  summer  in  the 
country,  it  dawned  on  me  seriously  how  much  there 
was  outside  of  my  little  world."  Here  was  open  coun 
try,  a  land  of  green  hills  and  sky,  a  place  where  the 
man  to  whom  beauty  was  a  living  thing  might  find 
widening  inspiration. 

Of  the  many  monuments  which  Saint-Gaudens 
created  there  are  five  which  commemorate  great  he 
roes  of  the  Civil  War.  The  monument  of  Admiral 
Farragut  has  been  mentioned;  standing  in  the  heart 
of  the  country's  greatest  city,  it  carries  daily  to  the 
thousands  who  pass  an  unconscious  inspiration  —  as 
though  treading  the  swinging  deck  of  his  flagship,  the 
Admiral  seems  to  look  forward  with  a  grim  determina 
tion,  inflexible,  indomitable  —  a  man. 

The  Shaw  memorial  was  undertaken  in  1884.  The 
second  of  this  historic  series,  Saint-Gaudens  expected 
to  complete  it  within  a  comparatively  short  time;  but 
it  was  not  until  1897  that  the  memorial  was  unveiled 
in  Boston.  Robert  Gould  Shaw  was  a  young  Bosto- 
nian  who  was  killed  in  action  while  leading  his  regi 
ment,  the  Fifty-fourth  Massachusetts  —  a  regiment 
of  colored  men  led  by  white  officers.  The  memorial  is 
in  the  form  of  a  large  bas-relief.  Although  unfortu 
nately  placed,  it  is  one  of  Saint-Gaudens's  most  highly 
considered  works.  Across  the  relief  the  colored  troops 
march  to  the  drum  beat;  there  is  the  rhythm  of  a  pass 
ing  regiment  and  a  martial  animation,  but  over  all  is 


AUGUSTUS  SAINT-GAUDENS         135 

a  sense  of  melancholy;  in  the  faces  of  the  soldiers, 
the  tense  look  of  anticipation  of  the  impending  battle. 
Occupying  the  centre  of  the  panel,  Shaw  rides  beside 
his  men,  an  expression  of  sadness  on  his  youthful  face. 
Above  the  scene  floats  a  figure  to  which  the  master 
gave  no  name,  but  which  his  interpreters  and  pupils 
have  called  Fame  and  Death. 

During  the  early  nineties  Saint-Gaudens  produced 
two  more  statues,  both  of  which  have  been  placed  in 
the  city  of  Chicago.  In  the  equestrian  monument  to 
General  Logan,  Saint-Gaudens  gave  an  indication  of 
the  greater  statue,  that  of  General  Sherman,  which 
was  soon  to  follow.  In  the  Logan  monument  he  found 
a  subject  susceptible  of  broad  interpretation.  The 
general,  mounted  on  a  spirited  charger,  rides  with 
the  air  of  a  conqueror.  There  is  the  "  smell  of  the  bat 
tlefield  "in  his  face.  The  body  seems  a  living  thing, 
moving  flesh  and  blood  are  incased  in  the  wind-blown 
uniform. 

But  in  his  statue  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  Saint-Gau 
dens  reached  the  height  of  his  art.  Standing  before 
the  massive  chair  from  which  he  seems  to  have  risen, 
the  tall,  gaunt,  ungainly  figure  embodies  in  its  atti 
tude  and  in  every  hanging  fold  of  the  unfitted  gar 
ments,  the  spirit  of  infinite  tenderness,  melancholy, 
and  strength  that  characterized  the  great  emancipa 
tor.  Although  the  memory  of  Lincoln  will  endure  as 
long  as  men  live  upon  the  earth,  the  Lincoln  of  Saint- 
Gaudens  will  ever  recall  to  coming  generations  the 
plaintive  sadness  of  this  greatest  of  Americans. 

In  the  year  1887  General  William  Tecumseh  Sher- 


136          AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

man  gave  Saint-Gaudens  eighteen  sittings  for  a  bust. 
Sherman  had  served  with  distinction  in  the  Mexican 
War  in  1846,  and  in  May,  1861,  at  the  outbreak  of  the 
Civil  War,  was  appointed  colonel  of  the  Thirteenth 
U.S.  Infantry.  Rapidly  promoted,  he  took  part  in 
many  famous  campaigns,  and  in  1864  became  com 
mander  of  the  military  division  of  the  Mississippi. 
Assembling  in  1864  his  three  armies,  comprising  over 
one  hundred  thousand  men,  near  Chattanooga,  he  be 
gan  an  invasion  of  the  State  of  Georgia,  and  finally, 
with  60,000  picked  men,  made  his  celebrated  "March 
to  the  Sea,"  from  Atlanta  to  Savannah.  The  statue  of 
Sherman  was  begun  in  1890,  but  it  was  not  until  1903 
that  it  was  finally  erected  at  the  entrance  of  Central 
Park  in  New  York  City.  Led  by  a  symbolic  figure 
of  Victory,  the  general  rides  forward  on  his  charger. 
A  speaking  likeness  of  Sherman,  the  statue  at  the 
same  time  seems  infused  with  the  spirit  of  the  great 
struggle,  a  spirit  of  invincible  determination.  It  is 
a  monument  which  may  be  included  among  the 
great  equestrian  statues  of  the  modern  world.  "His 
horse  is  obviously  advancing,  and  Sherman's  body, 
tense  with  nervous  energy,  is  at  one  with  the  body 
beneath  him,  equally  impressive  of  movement.  The 
winged  victory  in  every  fibre  quivers  with  the  rhythm 
of  oncoming  resistless  force." 

In  the  Rock  Creek  Cemetery  near  the  City  of 
Washington  is  a  figure  which  is  not  only  one  of  the 
greatest  productions  of  Saint-Gaudens,  but  unques 
tionably  his  most  imaginative  composition.  This  is 
the  memorial  erected  by  Mr.  Henry  Adams  to  his 


AUGUSTUS  SAINT-GAUDENS         137 

wife.  The  figure  is  seated  and  concealed  by  a  loose 
garment  which  half  veils  the  face.  Saint-Gaudens 
once  spoke  of  the  figure  as  symbolic  of  "The  Mystery 
of  the  Hereafter;  it  is  beyond  pain,  and  beyond  joy." 
Of  this  monument  Henry  Adams  wrote  to  Saint- 
Gaudens:  "The  work  is  indescribably  noble  and  im 
posing  ...  it  is  full  of  poetry  and  suggestion,  infinite 
wisdom,  a  past  without  beginning  and  a  future  with 
out  end,  a  repose  after  limitless  experience,  a  peace 
to  which  nothing  matters  —  all  are  embodied  in  this 
austere  and  beautiful  face  and  form." 

The  world  now  began  to  pour  its  offerings  upon 
Saint-Gaudens.  From  Harvard  University  came  the 
honorary  degree  of  LL.D.  and  the  tribute  of  Dr. 
Eliot,  its  president,  who  said  in  conferring  it:  "Augus 
tus  Saint-Gaudens  —  sculptor  whose  art  follows  but 
ennobles  nature,  confers  fame  and  lasting  remem 
brance,  and  does  not  count  the  mortal  years  it  takes 
to  mould  immortal  forms."  Degrees  from  the  Uni 
versities  of  Yale  and  Princeton  followed  his  Harvard 
honor;  at  Paris  in  1900  he  was  awarded  the  medal  of 
honor,  "and  at  Buffalo  in  the  following  year  a  special 
medal  was  bestowed  upon  him,  an  enthusiastic  tribute 
from  his  fellow  artists,  who  sought  lovingly  to  exalt 
him  above  themselves  as  the  one  man  they  regarded 
as  the  master  of  them  all." 

Together  with  these  recognitions  came  others  of 
equal  significance.  In  the  late  nineties  he  was  made 
by  the  French  Government  an  Officer  of  the  Legion 
of  Honor  and  a  Corresponding  Member  of  the  Societe 
des  Beaux-Arts,  and  later  from  the  same  source  came 


138          AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

an  offer  to  purchase  certain  of  his  bronzes  for  the  Lux 
embourg  Museum  in  Paris.  In  1904  he  was  elected 
Honorary  Foreign  Academician  of  the  Royal  Acad 
emy  of  London,  and  among  his  other  later  distinctions 
may  be  included  his  memberships  in  the  National 
Academy  of  New  York  and  the  Academy  of  St.  Luke, 
Rome. 

Constantly  he  answered  the  call  of  Europe  and 
found  delight  and  profit  in  his  travels;  but  the  United 
States  grew  more  dear  to  him  with  each  passing  year. 
"I  belong  in  America,"  he  wrote;  "that  is  my  home, 
that  is  where  I  want  to  be  and  to  remain."  But  now 
the  tireless  energy  of  his  early  life  began  to  show  its 
mark  on  the  vigorous  vitality  which  had  so  long  sup 
ported  him.  With  his  work,  and  congenial  assistants 
and  friends,  he  began  to  identify  himself  more  closely 
with  the  simple  life  of  his  Cornish  home.  On  the  third 
of  August,  1907,  came  the  final  episode  in  his  memo 
rable  career.  A  long  illness  attended  by  much  suffer 
ing  had  failed  to  separate  him  from  his  work;  carried 
to  his  studio  to  superintend  the  work  of  his  assistants, 
he  labored  until  the  end.  But  his  life  was  over,  and 
as  he  had  lived  in  a  realm  of  spiritual  beauty,  so  in 
the  quiet  peace  of  the  New  Hampshire  hills  his  spirit 
passed. 

Augustus  Saint-Gaudens,  although  of  foreign  birth 
and  for  many  years,  during  the  early  period  of  his  life, 
a  resident  abroad,  "remained  as  distinctly  American 
in  his  art  as  if  he  had  come  from  a  long  line  of  native 
ancestors.  He  showed  his  Americanism  in  striking  out 
in  a  totally  new  vein  and  making  his  own  traditions." 


AUGUSTUS  SAINT-GAUDENS         139 

Of  his  art  much  has  been  written,  but  a  few  quota 
tions  may  suffice.  "The  special  note  of  the  medal 
lions  which  are  conspicuous  among  his  first  produc 
tions  is  one  of  delicacy,  and  in  the  character  of  that 
delicacy  lies  a  source  of  strength  which  was  from  first 
to  last  of  immense  service."  His  touch  was  "at  once 
caressing  and  bold,"  and  he  delighted  "in  giving  a 
clear,  even  forcible,  impression  of  the  personality  be 
fore  him.  It  is  portraiture  for  the  sake  of  truth  and 
beauty,  not  for  the  sake  of  technique."  In  his  work  in 
the  round,  the  Adams  memorial  stands  as  his  "one 
memorable  effort  in  the  sphere  of  loftiest  abstraction. 
His  other  greatest  triumphs  were  won  in  the  field  of 
portraiture."  In  his  studies  of  historical  subjects, 
Saint-Gaudens  "struck  the  one  definitive  note,  made 
his  Lincoln  or  Sherman  a  type  which  generations  must 
revere  and  which  no  future  statues  can  invalidate." 

"People  think  a  sculptor  has  an  easy  life  in  a  stu 
dio,"  he  once  said.  "It's  hard  labor  in  a  factory." 
And  often  he  remarked,  "  You  can  do  anything  you 
please.  It's  the  way  it's  done  that  makes  the  differ 


ence." 


Such  was  Augustus  Saint-Gaudens.  To  him  Amer 
ica  afforded  an  opportunity;  richly  and  many  times 
over  did  he  repay  his  debt  to  his  adopted  land. 


IX 
JACOB  A.  RIIS 

Born  in  Ribe,  Denmark,  1849 
Died  in  Barre,  Massachusetts,  1914 

THERE  are  many  good  citizens  of  the  United  States 
who  can  look  back  with  pride  to  their  Danish  ances 
try.  Denmark,  that  land  of  low-lying,  storm-swept 
coasts,  and  level  plains,  has  bred  for  centuries  a  race  of 
hardy,  freedom-loving  people.  It  is  only  natural  that 
America  should  hold  out  to  them  a  promise  of  even 
greater  opportunity  and  personal  liberty. 

On  the  bleak  coast  of  the  North  Sea  is  the  little 
town  of  Ribe.  There,  in  1849,  was  born  Jacob  A.  Riis, 
son  of  a  schoolmaster  and  one  of  fourteen  children. 
Scant  were  the  means  for  the  education  and  upbring 
ing  of  so  large  a  family;  but  from  this  humble  home  on 
the  Danish  seacoast  came  a  man  who,  in  later  years, 
was  to  become  famous  in  the  new  land  of  his  adoption : 
famous,  not  because  of  wealth  or  inventive  genius,  but 
for  his  citizenship,  and  for  his  deeds,  which  left  the 
world  better  than  he  found  it. 

There  were  no  railroads  or  steamboats  in  Ribe  in 
those  days.  It  was  as  it  had  been  almost  for  centuries. 
And  yet  Ribe  took  pride  in  its  history:  its  people  were 
a  fighting  race,  fighters  for  honor  and  liberty,  fighters 
for  the  little  of  peace  and  security  that  encroaching 
neighbors  and  unfriendly  Nature  had  permitted  them 


^^ 


Copyright  by  Brown  Brothers 


JACOB  A.   RIIS  141 

to  have.  They  had  fought  back  the  Germans  in  1849, 
as  they  had  fought  for  their  homes  in  years  before. 
And  every  year,  when  the  wind  set  in  from  the  north 
west,  they  fought  back  the  sea  that  rose  up  over  the 
low  beaches  and  flooded  the  land  as  far  back  as  the 
eye  could  see. 

With  such  traditions  and  in  such  environment,  it  is 
small  wonder  that  young  Jacob  grew  to  be  a  healthy, 
normal  boy  charged  with  ambition  and  energy.  There 
was  fighting  blood  in  his  veins,  but  it  was  the  blood 
that  rises  and  fights  against  oppression  and  for  the 
right,  and  never  for  conquest  or  the  subjection  of  the 
weak. 

It  was  the  ambition  of  the  father  that  Jacob  should 
study  for  a  professional  career,  but  to  the  young  boy, 
with  his  strong  body  and  alert  mind,  the  study  of  a 
trade  appealed  more  keenly,  and  he  was  apprenticed 
for  a  year  to  a  carpenter  in  the  town. 

But  before  the  year  was  done,  the  boy's  ambition 
grew  beyond  the  opportunities  of  the  little  town,  and, 
with  the  consent  of  his  family,  he  removed  to  Copen 
hagen  to  continue  his  apprenticeship  under  a  great 
builder  in  that  city.  Four  years  were  passed  here,  and 
during  these  years  Jacob  became  proficient  in  his 
trade;  but  of  even  greater  value  were  the  opportuni 
ties  for  study  which  the  Danish  capital  afforded  him: 
study  not  only  in  books,  but  in  men  and  in  the  obser 
vation  of  the  life  around  him. 

One  other  thing  drove  his  ambition  steadily  for 
ward.  In  Ribe  was  a  fair-haired  girl,  the  daughter  of 
the  wealthiest  and  most  prominent  citizen.  Wide  was 


i42          AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

the  social  and  financial  gulf  between  the  young  and 
penniless  carpenter  and  the  young  girl  whom  he  de 
sired  for  his  wife.  To  everyone  but  himself  his  hopes 
seemed  almost  ridiculous  in  their  impossibility.  He 
alone  refused  to  accept  defeat.  If  money  was  needed, 
he  would  make  it.  If  Denmark  could  not  offer  him 
success,  there  was  a  land  beyond  the  Atlantic  that 
could. 

He  was  twenty-one  years  old.  In  his  pocket  were 
forty  dollars.  It  was  not  much,  either  in  years  of  ex 
perience  or  in  wealth;  but  he  had  his  trade  to  fall  back 
on,  and,  above  all,  he  had  "a  pair  of  strong  hands  and 
stubbornness  enough  to  do  for  two;  also  a  strong  be 
lief  that  in  a  free  country,  free  from  the  dominion  of 
custom,  of  caste,  as  well  as  of  men,  things  would  some 
how  come  right  in  the  end." 

From  the  deck  of  the  steamer  he  watched  the  city 
of  New  York  grow  large  on  the  horizon.  Ships  of  the 
world  filled  the  blue  harbor.  Tall  spires  of  churches 
lifted  above  the  roofs ;  wharves  were  alive  with  activ 
ity.  A  static  quality  was  in  the  air;  he  was  filled  with 
a  spirit  of  adventure  and  limitless  opportunity. 

In  Castle  Garden,  at  the  tip  of  New  York,  where 
in  years  past  the  immigrants  were  landed,  a  man 
was  hiring  laborers  in  an  iron-works  at  Brady's  Bend 
in  Pennsylvania.  The  pay  seemed  good,  and  Riis  en 
gaged  to  join  the  party  which  was  being  formed. 

The  work  was  hard,  but  Riis's  knowledge  of  a  trade 
stood  him  in  good  stead,  and  he  was  put  at  work  build 
ing  houses  for  the  employees  in  the  foundry.  Then 
from  a  clear  sky  came  news  which  abruptly  changed 


JACOB  A.  RIIS  143 

his  plans  and  the  course  of  his  entire  life.  France  had 
declared  war  on  Prussia,  and  Denmark  was  expected 
to  join  with  France  and  avenge  her  wrongs  of  1864. 

Back  to  his  memory  came  the  love  of  his  own  coun 
try,  of  her  flag,  and  of  what  seemed  his  duty  there. 
His  brain  aflame  with  patriotism,  he  threw  up  his  job 
and  hurried  to  Buffalo,  and  from  there  proceeded 
finally  to  New  York.  He  had  just  one  cent  in  his 
pocket;  he  had  sold  his  clothes  and  small  possessions 
to  buy  his  ticket. 

But  the  Frenchmen  in  New  York  did  not  under 
stand  the  young  Dane  who  wanted  them  to  send  him 
home  to  fight  if  his  country  needed  him;  nor  did  those 
of  his  own  countrymen  whom  he  saw  feel  able  to  pay 
his  transportation  on  this  patriotic  journey.  Again 
and  again  young  Riis  offered  himself.  At  every  at 
tempt  rebuff  or  misfortune  countered  him.  It  was 
useless  to  try  further.  Reluctantly  he  abandoned  his 
hope  to  join  the  French  in  their  great  struggle. 

Winter  was  at  hand.  To  the  scantily  clad,  starv 
ing,  and  penniless  young  man,  the  great  city  seemed 
to  turn  a  cold  and  forbidding  shoulder.  But  opportu 
nity  does  not  come  to  those  who  wait  expectant  of  it: 
it  is  a  prize  to  be  won  by  struggle,  and  often  by  priva 
tion.  Opportunity  is  everywhere,  but  it  is  only  the 
stalwart,  indomitable  spirits  who  seek  and  seize  it. 

Hard  days  followed.  From  New  York  Riis  went  to 
Jamestown,  a  small  village  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
state,  and  there  he  spent  the  winter  doing  such  trivial 
jobs  as  fell  to  him,  glad  to  receive  the  small  and  irreg 
ular  pay  which  enabled  him  to  struggle  on.  For  a 


144          AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

time  he  worked  in  a  Buffalo  planing-mill.  Summer 
found  him  working  with  a  railroad  gang  outside  the 
city.  Then  came  the  winter  again,  and  with  it  work 
at  good  wages  in  a  Buffalo  shipyard.  Destined  to  be 
known  throughout  the  United  States  in  later  years 
for  his  social  reforms,  and  his  virile  writings  for  the 
betterment  of  his  fellow  men,  in  these  early  days  it 
was  his  knowledge  of  an  honest  trade  that  made  it 
possible  for  him  to  build  the  foundations  of  future 
greatness. 

Two  years  later  Riis  was  back  again  in  New  York. 
Among  the  "want"  advertisements,  in  a  newspaper, 
his  eye  caught  one  which  offered  the  position  of  city 
editor  on  a  Long  Island  City  weekly.  The  probabil 
ity  that  a  position  thus  advertised  would  be  of  small 
value  was  confirmed  by  the  salary  attached  to  it.  Riis 
got  the  position;  the  salary  was  eight  dollars  a  week, 
and  at  the  end  of  two  weeks  the  paper  failed.  Three 
wasted  years  they  seemed;  three  years  of  no  accom 
plishment. 

Then  came  the  turning.  A  former  acquaintance, 
casually  met,  mentioned  a  job  that  was  open  in  a  news- 
gathering  agency.  "It  isn't  much  —  ten  dollars  a 
week  to  start  with,"  he  said.  The  brief  two  weeks'  ex 
perience  on  the  Long  Island  City  paper  had  given 
Riis  a  slight  familiarity  with  the  requirements.  In  the 
shadow  of  Grace  Church  he  prayed  for  strength  to  do 
the  work  which  he  had  so  long  and  so  hardly  sought. 
Beside  him  his  dog,  his  only  friend  in  these  dark  days, 
wagged  his  tail  in  encouragement.  The  die  was  cast. 

The  next  morning  Riis  presented  himself  at  the  of- 


JACOB  A.  RIIS  145 

fice  of  the  New  York  News  Association.  The  earnest 
ness  of  the  young  man  appealed  to  the  desk  editor, 
and  despite  his  shabby  clothes  and  thin,  worn  face,  he 
was  engaged.  From  that  time  on  the  path  broadened 
and  mounted  steadily  upward.  He  had  begun  his  ma 
jor  lifework,  a  newspaper  man. 

A  winter  of  hard  work  followed,  but  Riis  kept  his 
head  and  left  no  stone  unturned  to  take  every  ad 
vantage  of  his  opportunity.  By  day  he  gathered  news 
about  the  city;  by  night  he  studied  telegraphy.  In  the 
spring  he  took  another  step  forward,  and  his  conscien 
tious  work  during  the  winter  made  it  possible  for  him 
to  meet  the  requirements  of  his  post. 

Some  South  Brooklyn  politicians  had  started  a 
weekly  newspaper.  They  needed  a  reporter.  Riis 
packed  his  grip  and  crossed  the  river.  The  new  job 
paid  fifteen  dollars  a  week.  And  two  weeks  later  he 
was  made  editor  and  his  weekly  pay  was  advanced  to 
twenty-five  dollars. 

Then  came  another  turning  in  the  long,  hard  road. 
A  letter  from  Denmark,  from  the  little  town  of  Ribe, 
from  the  fair-haired  girl  whom  he  had  loved  as  a  boy 
and  for  whom  his  love  had  grown  through  these  lone 
some  years,  told  him  that  she  loved  him.  A  few 
months  earlier  this  letter  would  have  found  him  desti 
tute,  but  now  he  was  at  the  opening  of  his  career.  All 
things  seemed  possible.  With  redoubled  enthusiasm 
he  flung  himself  into  his  work. 

By  thrifty  living  Riis  had  saved  seventy-five  dol 
lars.  With  this  small  sum  and  with  notes  for  the  bal 
ance,  he  bought  the  paper  of  which  he  was  the  editor. 


11 


i46         AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

He  was  determined  to  succeed.  "The  News  was  a  big 
four-page  sheet.  Literally  every  word  in  it  I  wrote 
myself.  I  was  my  own  editor,  reporter,  publisher  and 
advertising  agent.  My  pen  kept  two  printers  busy  all 
week,  and  left  me  time  to  canvass  for  advertisements, 
attend  meetings,  and  gather  the  news.  I  slept  on  the 
counter,  with  the  edition  for  my  pillow,  in  order  to  be 
up  with  the  first  gleam  of  daylight  to  skirmish  for 
newsboys." 

Once,  impressed  by  the  fervor  of  a  preacher,  he  de 
cided  to  throw  up  editorial  work  and  take  to  preach 
ing.  "No,  no,  Jacob,"  said  the  preacher,  "not  that. 
We  have  preachers  enough.  What  the  world  needs  is 
consecrated  pens." 

That  determined  him,  finally.  He  would  pursue  the 
vocation  he  had  begun,  but  his  pen  would  strive  for 
the  high  ideal  he  had  set  before  him. 

Local  politics  were  corrupt,  and  Riis  with  his  paper 
began  a  campaign  for  reform.  He  was  offered  bribes; 
politicians  urged  him  to  cater  to  them  for  the  rewards 
they  could  offer.  Then,  when  nothing  else  could  move 
him,  they  turned  to  violence.  One  cold  winter  night  a 
gang  of  roughs  called  at  his  office.  Riis  was  working 
late.  One  of  the  roughs,  chosen  by  the  others,  entered 
the  office  with  a  club.  A  minute  later  Riis  flung  him 
through  the  front  window  of  the  office  into  the  street. 
That  ended  the  trouble. 

In  a  few  months  Riis  had  paid  in  full  the  price  of  the 
newspaper  and  had  established  it  firmly  on  its  feet. 
But  the  months  of  cruel  work  had  had  their  effect  on 
him.  He  was  badly  overstrained.  He  needed  a  rest. 


JACOB  A.  RIIS  147 

The  doctors  urged  it.  He  knew  they  were  right.  With 
characteristic  rapidity  of  determination,  he  sold  the 
paper  for  five  times  what  it  had  cost  him,  and  with  a 
snug  sum  in  his  pocket  took  the  ship  for  Denmark  to 
claim  his  bride. 

It  was  no  easy  life  in  America  to  which  he  brought 
back  his  young  wife.  But  in  their  small  home  they 
found  in  each  other  a  peace  and  inspiration  that  made 
all  things  possible. 

Eager  always  to  try  his  hand  at  something  new, 
Riis  purchased  a  stereopticon  and  experimented  with 
it  in  such  small  time  as  was  left  from  his  long  day  of 
newspaper  activity  and  his  domestic  cares.  It  was  to 
play  a  large  part  in  his  later  life.  "No  effort  to  add  in 
any  way  to  one's  stock  of  knowledge  is  likely  to  come 
amiss  in  this  world  of  changes  and  emergencies,  and 
Providence  has  a  way  of  ranging  itself  on  the  side 
of  the  man  with  the  strongest  battalions  of  resources 
when  the  emergency  does  come." 

For  a  long  time  after  the  sale  of  the  Brooklyn  paper 
Riis  had  tried  to  get  a  foothold  on  one  of  the  New 
York  dailies.  His  persistence  was  again  rewarded  and 
the  position  of  a  reporter  on  the  Tribune  was  opened 
to  him.  Soon  after  came  the  recognition  of  his  earnest 
and  conscientious  work  in  the  form  of  an  appointment 
to  represent  his  paper  at  Police  Headquarters.  It  was 
a  hard  and  dangerous  job,  which  required  cool  nerve 
and  indefatigable  energy.  But  of  greater  importance 
than  the  money  that  it  paid,  or  the  honor  of  the  ad 
vancement,  was  the  opportunity  it  afforded  the  young 
reporter  to  study  at  first-hand  the  conditions  in  which 


148          AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

men  and  women  lived  in  the  congested  tenements  of 
the  city  —  a  study  which  placed  at  his  hand  the 
knowledge  which  later  enabled  him  to  become  the 
champion  of  the  slums. 

The  police  reporter  on  a  newspaper  gathers  and 
writes  all  the  news  that  means  trouble  to  someone  — 
the  fires,  suicides,  murders,  and  robberies.  The  Trib 
une  office  was  in  Mulberry  Street,  opposite  Police 
Headquarters.  All  the  rival  newspapers  had  offices  in 
the  neighborhood,  and  among  the  reporters  there  was 
keen  rivalry  for  news.  Naturally,  the  police  did  not 
help,  for  to  be  "news"  it  must  be  discovered  before  it 
reached  Police  Headquarters,  when  all  would  know  of 
it.  Friendships  and  detective  skill  were  important 
factors.  Each  reporter  tried  to  be  the  first  to  get  the 
news,  write  it  up,  and  get  it  to  his  paper.  There  was 
lively  competition  among  the  reporters,  for  the  man 
who  got  the  news  in  print  first  had  a  "scoop"  on  his 
rivals. 

Out  01  this  busy  life  of  the  newspaper  man,  Riis 
now  began  to  develop  that  interest  which  soon  domi 
nated  his  very  existence;  for  from  his  daily  contact 
with  the  daily  life  of  the  city  slums  he  drew  the  inspira 
tion  to  do  his  small  part  to  better  the  conditions  of 
the  lives  of  those  around  him.  Small  as  were  his  first 
efforts,  there  was  soon  inspired  a  veritable  crusade  in 
the  soul  of  the  Danish-American.  Not  as  a  newspaper 
reporter,  not  because  he  won  his  livelihood  in  the  face 
of  every  difficulty,  but  because  of  his  unselfish  interest 
in  his  fellow  men  is  Jacob  Riis  great  among  Americans. 

One  day  he  picked  up  *  New  York  paper  and  saw 


JACOB  A.   RIIS  149 

that  the  Health  Department  reported  that  during  the 
past  two  weeks  there  had  been  a  "trace  of  nitrates" 
in  the  city  water.  For  months  cholera,  the  dreaded 
scourge  that  comes  from  impure  water  and  has,  in  the 
life  of  the  world,  killed  more  people  than  all  the  bat 
tles,  had  threatened  the  city.  Riis  investigated.  The 
water  supplying  two  million  people  must  be  pure. 
"Nitrates"  were  a  sign  of  sewage  contamination. 
The  city  was  threatened,  and  no  one  seemed  to  real 
ize  the  danger.  The  humble  investigations  of  the 
newspaper  reporter  were  to  produce  far-reaching 
results. 

Riis  wrote  an  article  that  day  for  the  Evening  Sun, 
and  advised  the  people  to  boil  the  water  before  drink 
ing  it.  Then,  with  a  camera  in  his  hand,  he  spent  a 
week  following  to  its  source  every  stream  that  dis 
charged  into  the  Croton  River.  He  found  evidence 
enough:  town  after  town  discharged  its  sewage  into 
the  water  which  supplied  New  York  City;  people 
bathed  in  it;  cities  dumped  refuse  into  it.  With  exact 
details,  and  the  evidence  illustrated  with  photographs, 
he  returned. 

The  city  was  saved.  So  strong  was  the  evidence 
that  over  a  million  dollars  was  promptly  spent  by  the 
city  to  guard  the  water-supply.  The  real  public-serv 
ice  life  of  Riis  had  begun. 

In  1884,  an  awakened  interest  in  the  housing  condi 
tions  in  the  tenement  districts  came  to  a  head  with 
the  establishment  of  the  Tenement-House  Commis 
sion.  It  brought  out  the  fact  that  the  people  living  in 
the  tenements  were  "better  than  the  houses."  Riis 


150          AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

worked  heart  and  soul  for  the  cause.  Four  years  later 
the  reform  was  assured,  with  the  backing  of  such  men 
as  Dr.  Felix  Adler  and  Alfred  T.  White.  The  Alder 
Tenement-House  Commission  was  formed. 

Now  Riis  turned  to  other  conditions  which  cried 
aloud  for  reform.  The  "Bend"  in  Mulberry  Street 
and  the  Police  Lodging-Room  system  needed  him. 
The  "Bend"  was  a  crowded  slum  that  for  a  half-cen 
tury  had  been  the  centre  of  vice  and  misery.  Riis 
aroused  the  community,  and  in  1888  a  bill  was  intro 
duced  in  the  Legislature  to  wipe  it  out  bodily.  To 
day,  a  city  park,  a  breathing-place  and  playground 
marks  the  site. 

The  Police  Lodging-Room  was  another  civic  dis 
grace  and  a  breeder  of  crime.  In  these  vile  and  filthy 
rooms  the  Police  Department  gave  night  lodging  to 
thousands  of  vagrants.  The  idea  sounds  well  enough, 
but  the  system  was  wrong,  and  Riis  realized  it.  In 
these  foul  quarters  young  men  lodged  with  profes 
sional  beggars  and  criminals,  and  learned  the  ways  of 
vice;  in  these  rooms  was  bred  disease,  physical  as  well 
as  moral.  Riis  warned  the  city  through  his  paper. 
Then  his  prophecies  came  true:  typhus  broke  out  in 
the  Police  Lodging-Rooms. 

Slowly  the  force  of  Riis's  newspaper  articles  made 
headway.  One  by  one  the  rooms  were  closed.  The 
Committee  on  Vagrancy  was  formed,  of  which  Riis 
was  a  member;  and  the  same  year  Theodore  Roose 
velt,  later  to  be  President  of  the  United  States,  was 
appointed  Police  Commissioner.  That  was  the  end. 
The  reform  was  accomplished.  For  the  deserving 


JACOB  A.  RIIS  151 

poor,  decent  quarters  were  provided;  the  professional 
vagrants  left  the  city. 

In  the  gloom  and  dirt  of  the  crowded  tenements 
the  souls  of  little  children  were  shrunk  and  dwarfed. 
Riis  was  their  crusader.  Through  his  paper  he  ap 
pealed  for  flowers  —  flowers  from  those  who  came 
each  day  to  the  city  from  the  country;  flowers  for  "  sad 
little  eyes  in  crowded  tenements,  where  the  summer 
sunshine  means  disease  and  death,  not  play  or  vaca* 
tion;  that  will  close  without  ever  having  looked  upon 
a  field  of  daisies." 

And  the  flowers  came.  Express  wagons  filled  with 
them  crowded  Mulberry  Street;  people  brought  them 
in  great  armfuls.  Little  children,  slovenly  women,  and 
rough  men  smiled  and  were  glad.  Riis  brought  God's 
country  to  Mulberry  Street. 

Then  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  problem  of 
child  labor  in  the  "East  Factories"  of  New  York. 
Only  children  over  fourteen  could  be  employed.  But 
as  there  was  no  birth-registry,  it  could  not  be  proved 
that  thousands  of  little  children  quite  evidently  years 
under  age  were  working  there.  Riis  studied  the  prob 
lem.  He  found  that  certain  teeth  do  not  appear  until 
the  child  is  fourteen.  He  went  to  the  factories  and 
examined  the  children's  teeth.  His  case  was  proved. 
With  such  evidence  a  committee  was  appointed  and 
a  correction  of  the  wrong  was  begun. 

"The  Public  School  is  the  corner-stone  of  our  liber 
ties."  The  public  schools  of  New  York  were  crowded, 
the  buildings  were  old,  unsanitary,  badly  lighted,  and 
many  were  actually  dangerous  fire-traps;  dark  base- 


1 52          AMERICANS  BY  ADOPTION 

ments  were  used  for  playgrounds.  There  was  in  the 
whole  city  but  one  school  with  an  outdoor  playground. 
Worse  yet,  there  were  thousands  of  children  who  did 
not  go  to  school  at  all,  and  of  those  who  did,  condi 
tions  made  truants  of  many. 

Riis  enlisted  for  this  new  battle.  He  took  photo 
graphs,  and  gave  lectures  showing  slides  made  from 
his  photographs,  and  he  wrote  constantly  in  the  news 
paper.  Slowly  the  playgrounds  came,  and  modern 
school-buildings  more  adequate  to  house  the  city's 
youth. 

It  is  an  endless  list  of  public-service  activities.  In 
stigated  by  this  foreign-born  American,  the  reform  of 
the  greatest  American  city  was  begun  and  carried  far 
along  its  way.  Unfit  tenements  were  torn  down,  parks 
and  playgrounds  were  established,  the  whole  school- 
system  was  remodeled,  the  old  over-crowded  prison 
was  condemned  and  a  modern  one  erected,  the  civil 
courts  were  overhauled ;  there  was  no  end  to  his  war 
fare  on  conditions  which  brought  death  and  misery  to 
the  city's  poor. 

A  writer  for  a  newspaper  by  vocation,  Jacob  Riis 
found  in  his  pen  a  strong  power  in  his  battles  for  re 
form.  Throughout  the  latter  years  of  his  life  he  con 
tributed  frequent  articles  to  magazines,  and  in  1890 
published  a  book  which  alone  will  long  make  men  re 
member  the  vital  purpose  of  his  life.  How  the  Other 
Half  Lives  tells  by  its  title  its  message  to  the  world;  it 
is  the  Golden  Rule  reduced  to  modern  terms. 

"I  hate  darkness  and  dirt  anywhere,  and  naturally 
want  to  let  in  the  light  .  .  .  for  hating  the  slum, 


JACOB  A.   RIIS  153 

what  credit  belongs  to  me?"  Unselfish,  giving  his  all 
to  the  common  cause,  Jacob  Riis  is  of  the  noble  band 
of  great  Americans.  As  he  lived,  so  he  died,  relatively 
a  poor  man.  But  poor  only  in  worldly  goods;  for  in 
the  peace  of  his  home  and  the  love  of  wife  and  chil 
dren  he  found  a  priceless  wealth  that  gold  can  never 
buy.  Many  were  his  chances  to  profit  by  his  work, 
but  his  creed  was  to  give  rather  than  to  receive. 

There  were  worldly  honors  that  he  received.  There 
was  the  golden  cross  presented  to  him  by  King  Chris 
tian  of  Denmark,  and  there  were  other  recognitions  to 
be  found  in  the  friendship  and  respect  of  the  foremost 
citizens  of  the  United  States.  But  of  all  honors,  the 
greatest  was  the  affection  of  the  thousands  whom  he 
helped  a  little  nearer  to  the  light,  for  whom  he  had 
opened  windows  in  their  souls. 

No  better  advice  has  been  given  than  this:  "As  to 
battling  with  the  world,  that  is  good  for  a  young  man, 
much  better  than  to  hang  on  to  somebody  for  sup 
port.  A  little  starvation  once  in  a  while,  even,  is  not 
out  of  the  way.  We  eat  too  much,  anyhow,  and  when 
you  have  fought  your  way  through  a  tight  place,  you 
are  the  better  for  it.  I  am  afraid  that  is  not  always  the 
case  when  you  have  been  shoved  through." 


THIS   BOOK   IS  DUE  ON   THE   LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 


RENEWED  BOOKS  ARE  SUBJECT  TO  IMMEDIATE 
RECALL 


LIBRARY,  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  DAVIS 

Book  Slip-25m-6,'66(G3855s4)458 


N*  194089 

Husband,  J.  H96 

Americans  by  adoption. 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
DAVIS 


